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The Sunrise Kingdom; 

OR, 

LIFE AND SCENES IN 

JAPAN, 

AND 


WOMAN’S WORK FOR WOMAN THERE. 


BY 


Mrs. JULIA D. CARROTHERS. 



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PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 

No. 1334 CHESTNUT STREET. 

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Copyright, i8jg, by 

THE TRUSTEES OF THE 

Presbyterian Board of Publication. 



Westcott & Thomson, 
Stereotypers and Electrotypers , Philada. 






TO 

THE MEMBERS OF 


y'HE OMAN’S j^OREIGN JA. ISSIONARY jSoCIETY 

OF THE 


PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 

IN REMEMBRANCE OF THEIR EARNEST PRAYERS FOR JA: N 
AND THEIR FAITHFUL CO-OPERATION IN “WOMAN’S 
WORK FOR WOMAN THERE,” 

THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY 


ONE OF THEIR MISSIONARIES. 





PREFACE. 


If they who walk beside me as seven years 
of missionary life are retraced, find the Master 
near as I find him ; if they who stand beside 
me as the seed is sown over Japan realize the 
care of the Father, the power of the Spirit, the 
preciousness of the seed and the blessedness 
of the sower as I do; if any, being themselves 
“heirs of the kingdom,” are led to seek with 
redoubled zeal to lead others to the same 
heritage,—then shall I feel that my work has 
not been in vain. 

To the members of the society with which I 
was most nearly connected, and under whose 
care my work was done and is still carried on, 
this book is dedicated. But it goes forth with 


1 * 



6 Preface. 

greetings to All Societies, Mission Circles 
and Boards, and to all Missionaries who in 
any clime and among people of any tongue 
are laboring to sow the seed of the kingdom. 

}. D. C. 

Chicago, Sept., 1878. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The following pages are a picture of seven 
years of missionary-life in Japan. 

Looking upon the incidents and events here 
recorded, the reader may enter in some degree 
into the experiences of such a life, and under¬ 
stand, dimly at least, the richness and beauty 
which may be found in it. The simplicity and 
steadfast adherence to the one aim and pur¬ 
pose of mission-work, turning aside neither to 
the right hand nor the left for earthly pleasure 
or reward, may have seemed to some like a 
monotonous treading of the mill of duty. This 
little book will perhaps show to such that there 
are endless sources of delight and interest ever 
open to the earnest missionary in the minds and 
souls of those among whom he is laboring. 

And as we go in and out with the writer of 

7 



8 


Introduction. 


this familiar account of her own knowledge of 
the Japanese people and intercourse with them, 
we shall see fresh evidence of the ever-new 
power of the old gospel, and realize the silent 
yet wonderfully transforming influence which it 
carries with it wherever it takes possession of 
the heart of man. 

The writer’s hope is that the simple story of 
what she saw and heard during her residence 
in Japan, when she had unusual opportunities, 
which she diligently improved, of gaining ac¬ 
cess to the homes and hearts of the people, 
may answer the questionings of some doubters 
as to the benefit of mission-work, and may 
show what present reward the Master often 
gives his servants in the labor to which he 
calls them. 

She trusts also that it will lead many who 
have never before done so to lift up heart and 
voice to God in prayer for this beautiful “ Sun¬ 
rise Kingdom,” which is just beginning to turn 
its face toward the “ Sun of righteousness,” 
and to feel the blessed “ healing in his wings.” 

M. H. P. 


CONTENTS 


BOOK I. 


CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

“ O-Hay-O “ Good-Morning ”. 17 

First Sight of Land.—Voyage.—General Appearance of 
Coast.—Junks, Fishing-Vessels, Sailors, Harbor, Sampans.— 
Yokohama.— “ 0 -hay- 0 . n 


CHAPTER II. 

A Look at the People. 25 

Different Classes of Japanese.— Mikado.—Kugis.—Dai- 
mios.—Samurai.— Judges.—Priests.— Doctors.— Merchants. 

—Mechanics.—Barbers.—Coolies.—Beggars.— Religions of 
the Country.—Work of Missionaries. 

CHAPTER III. 

Summer Days in Yokohama. 37 

Climate. — Walks through the Rice-Paddies.— Trees.— 
Flowers.—Fruits.— Birds.— Animals.—Farmers.—A Pedes¬ 
trian Tour. 


9 







IO 


Contents . 


CHAPTER IV. 

A Winter in Tokio. 

Tokio.—Its Situation,—The Castle.—Emperor’s Garden.— 
O-hama-go-ten.—Temples.—A-sa-ku-sa.—Shi-ba.—Japanese 
Houses.—Large Fires.— The To-ri.— Canals.— Bridges.— 
The Foreign Concession.— Mu-ko-ji-ma.— Sku-da-ji-ma.— 
Winter Climate.— Flowers and Fruit.-— Missionary Life in 
Tokio. 

CHAPTER V. 

Home and School.. 

Morning in Tokio.— Interior of a Japanese House.— 
Breakfast.—Going to School.— The Written Language.— 
What a Japanese Girl Learns.—The Baby O-ya-su-mi-na- 
sai.—Japanese Homes.—Position of Women. 


CHAPTER VI. 

Going to " See Flowers ”. 

Japanese Holidays. — A Letter.— Dressing the Hair.— 
The Bath-House.—A Little Girl’s Dress.—Fans, Shoes and 
Umbrellas.— Meeting Friends.—Worship at the Temple.— 
Mu-ko-ji-ma.—The Feast.-—Going Home.— Social Life.— 
Spoken Language.—May Days. 


CHAPTER VII. 

Ro-ku-ban. 

The New Mission-House.— The Typhoon.— A Class of 
Boys.—Young Samurai.—The Bible Class.— The Ya-cu- 
nins.—Our New Year. 






Contents. 


11 


CHAPTER VIII. 

PAGE 

Pictures and Books. 98 

Ancient Warriors.—Court-Ladies.—Daimios.—Ha-ra-ki-ri. 

— Jo-ro-rei.— Japanese Books. — Religious.—Historical.— 
Encyclopaedias.— Allegory.— Moral Teachings.— Poetry.— 
Novels. 


CHAPTER IX. 


Games and Toys . no 

Japanese New Year.—Division of Time.—Mo-chi.—Orna¬ 
ments.—O-mi-so-ka.—Money.—Driving away Evil Spirits.— 

New Year’s Festivities.—The Dolls’ Feast.—Games.—Toy¬ 
shops.—Japanese Children. 


CHAPTER X. 

What Little Children Read .*. 120 

The Names of their Books :—“ The Ape and the Crab.”— 

“ The Rat’s Wedding.”— “ Mo-mo-taro.”— “ Kin-ta-ro.”— 

“ The Tail-Cut Swallow.”— “ Story of Sho-set-su.”— “ The 
Treasure.” 


CHAPTER XI. 

A Journey from Tokio to O-da-wa-ra.. 128 

A Letter.—Political Divisions.—Postmen.—Setting out on 
a Journey.—The To-kai-do.—Tea-Houses.—Ka-gos.—No-ri- 
mo-no.—The Road to Fu-ji-sa-wa.—The Hotel.—A Day’s 
Journey.—Night at O-da-wa-ra. 






12 


Contents. 


CHAPTER XII. 

PAGE 

On the Ha-ko-nes. ...139 

Sai-o-na-ra.—Mountain Scene.—Ha-ta-ji-ku.—Up to Ha- 
ko-ne.—The Lake.—The Temple.—Ji-go-ku.—A-shi-no-yu. 
=-Mi-ya-no-shi-ta.— Yu-mo-to. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Pilgrims on Fu-ji. 146 

Pilgrims come to Ha-ko-ne.—Descent of the Mountain.— 
Mi-shi-ma.—Yo-shi-wa-ra.—The Base of Fu-ji.=—The Cin¬ 
der Cone.—The Huts.—Going up to the Crater.—The Storm. 


BOOK II. 

CHAPTER I. 

An Open Door. 153 

CHAPTER II. 

Midsummer Holidays. 163 

CHAPTER III. 


The Gospel in Japanese 


172 









Contents , 


13 


CHAPTER IV. 

PAGE 

Loaves and Fishes. 1S1 

CHAPTER V. 

The Holy Spirit Alone. 19° 

CHAPTER VI. 

Christmas at Ro-ku-ban. 197 

CHAPTER VII. 

The “ Peep of Day”. 204 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Woman at the Well.210 


BOOK III. 

CHAPTER I. 

“The Churches of Asia salute You”.219 

CHAPTER II. 

Eno-Shima. 227 

2 











14 


Contents. 


N. 


CHAPTER III. 

PAGE 

The Strait Gate and the Narrow Way... .. 234 

CHAPTER IV. 

A Jin-ri-ki-sha Journey. 246 

CHAPTER V. 

The Two Capitals in 1875. 254 

CHAPTER VI. 

“The Poor have the Gospel preached to Them*’. . 267 

CHAPTER VII. 

Coming into the Kingdom. 278 

CHAPTER VIII. 

“ Our Father which art in Heaven ”. 287 

# 

CHAPTER IX. 

Little Children. 294 

CHAPTER X. 


The Hem of the Garment, 


302 









Contents. 


15 


BOOK IV. 

CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Women’s Work for Women. 307 

CHAPTER II. 

“The Christian’s Shining Light”. 341 

CHAPTER III. 

The Regions Beyond. 365 

CHAPTER IV. 

“The Lord showed him all the Land”. 379 

CHAPTER V. 

Sai-o-na-ra...403 















The Sunrise Kingdom. 


BOOK I. 


CHAPTER I. 

“ O-HA Y-0 r—“GOOD-MORNING /” 

First Sight of Land—Voyage—General Appearance of 
Coast—Junks, Fishing-Vessels, Sailors, Harbor, Sam¬ 
pans—Yokohama—“ O-hay-o !” 

T HE sun was just rising over the islands 
of Japan when we saw them for the first 
time. It was a beautiful hour in which to arrive 
in Zi-pan-gu, “The Sunrise Kingdom.” 

The voyage across the Pacific Ocean had been 
long and dreary. Day after day sea and sky 
were of the same dull and leaden hue. Only 
once or twice did the mists roll away to disclose 
the blue sky and the still bluer sea. One even¬ 
ing the breeze freshened a little, and there were 
white caps on the waves. The Chinese in the 
steerage threw out square pieces of paper with 

strange characters printed on them to appease 
2* b 17 




18 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1869 

the gods of the storm. But the wind soon died 
away, the sea became as smooth as ever, and 
there was not even a gale to vary the monotony 
of our voyage. 

The people on shipboard were not favorable 
to missionary enterprise in Japan. They said 
that it was contrary to the treaty, and that mis¬ 
sionaries had no right to go, as such, to Japan 
at all. We thought differently, and looked above 
the treaty to One who has commanded his dis¬ 
ciples to go into all the world. 

The Japanese have a pretty legend concerning 
the origin of their country. They say: “A god 
once dipped his spear into the sea, and as he 
lifted it again the drops which fell from it con¬ 
gealed, and Japan’s four thousand isles were 
formed.” 

But we, in our Western wisdom, cannot ad¬ 
mit any such poetic and peaceful origin to these 
islands. Our science rather suggests that they 
were broken off from the great Asiatic conti¬ 
nent in some violent convulsion of Nature, 
and frequent earthquakes still proclaim the 
existence of restless internal fires. 

The coast-line of the Japan islands is broken 
and irregular, with many bays and inlets. 
There is little of the sublime to mark the scene¬ 
ry, but the islands are fair and sunny, and di¬ 
versified by mountain and valley and wide-ex- 


1869] “ Good-Morning /” 19 

tended plains. Over the plains broad, shallow 
rivers flow peacefully in their channels, and 
down from the mountain-sides, into the pleas¬ 
ant valleys, come wild little streams, making 
up in swiftness and impetuosity what they lack 
in size. 

As you travel among the mountains the mur¬ 
mur and gurgle of waterfalls hidden from sight 
fall upon the ear as they tumble over the rocks 
and down the precipices. Mountains, valleys 
and plains are clothed in the richest green, and 
exhibit in pleasing combination the productions 
of both temperate and semi-tropical climes. 

Japan bears traces of the curse in the earth¬ 
quake and the tempest, the brier and the thorn, 
but there is little here that is hurtful; few 
poisonous plants or reptiles are found. The 
Japanese are justly proud of their land, whose 
beauty they celebrate in many a song and poem. 

All around the islands sweeps the Pacific 
Ocean, dashing in white foam upon the rocks 
and murmuring against the low shores. Some- 
times it grows rough and angry, and appears as 
if threatening to submerge the whole land. 
But it is only a threat, for even the tiniest isles 
are safe. After all, the sea loves the land, and 
delights in whispering to it pleasant stories and 
in casting its lovely treasures upon its shores. 

As we neared our port we passed some Jap- 


20 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1869 

anese junks. These clumsy, ill-contrived ves¬ 
sels do not often venture far from land, but are 
used in transporting manufactures and products 
from one part of the country to another through 
rivers and inland seas. Nearer the shore were 
smaller fishing-vessels, in whose construction 
and the shape of the sails you would observe 
a wide difference from those dotting our own 
waters. 

The Japanese are very dependent upon their 
supply of fish ; as they eat no meat, it forms a 
principal article of their diet. In the morning, 
when the wind is fair, the fishing-boats go out 
to sea, and all day long their white sails glitter 
far out upon the water. Usually the fish are 
plentiful and cheap. The smaller ones are 
eaten by the poorer classes, while the rich 
choose the delicious tai and bora. Sometimes 
the fishermen bring home sharks and enormous 
cuttle-fish. 

Japanese sailors are very expert in the man¬ 
agement of their boats, seldom meeting with ac¬ 
cidents. They are good swimmers and divers, 
and this renders them all the more fearless in 
the water. 

The harbors are very shallow. Ships are 
obliged to anchor far from the shore, and 
passengers and freight are landed by means 
of small open boats, called sampans. These are 


1869] “ Good-Morning /” 21 

worked by a single oar, as in sculling, and the 
boat is rapidly propelled with a peculiar hissing 
on the part of the oarsman. 

When our steamer dropped anchor in the 
harbor of Yokohama, we were immediately sur¬ 
rounded by these sampans. From the deck we 
saw the small, frail vessels and the almost naked 
boatmen, with their skin bronzed by constant ex¬ 
posure to the sun and wind. The first view 
of the Japanese is not prepossessing, nor are 
the tones of their voices, when first heard, 
agreeable to the ear. But we could not dwell 
upon these early impressions, as we were anxious 
to reach the city of Yokohama, that lay just a 
mile from us. So bidding adieu to the officers 
of the Great Republic and to our fellow-pas¬ 
sengers, whose destination was still farther on 
—to China, the Flowery Kingdom—we descend¬ 
ed the ladder by the side of the steamer, stepped 
cautiously into a sampan, and with our baggage 
were soon landed on the shore. 

Yokbhama was not the first foreign settle¬ 
ment on this side of the island. The name of 
the city signifies “ opposite shore,” as it lies 
directly opposite Kanagawa, where foreigners 
were first allowed to live. English and French 
troops are stationed here, each nation striving 
to gain the ascendency and to obtain a monop¬ 
oly of trade with a people so recently opened 


22 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1869 


to commerce. In speaking of the city, for¬ 
eigners use the terms native town , settlement 
and bhiff. In the “settlement,” houses are 
mostly built in the European style, and in its 
stores you can purchase almost anything in the 
way of clothing and furniture. Here also are 
the various churches, mission-houses, hotels, 
consulates and many residences belonging to 
the foreign population, now numbering about 
five thousand. 

The most beautiful part of the city is the 
bluff. Across the bridge, near the mission- 
house, the road leads along the bank of a canal 
for a few steps, and then, making a sudden turn, 
takes its course up the hill, which rises gradu¬ 
ally to about two hundred feet above the level 
of the ocean and extends several miles. This 
road is very pretty, with embankments on one 
side, and on the other views of the Buddhist 
cemeteries, and occasional glimpses of the sea. 
The foreign residences on the bluff are very 
pleasant, and some are even elegant. Here also 
are tea-houses, where we can sit and enjoy the 
view of the settlement and the harbor whilst drink¬ 
ing the cup of tea which is always offered to the 
casual visitor by the smiling Japanese girl. 

The foreign cemetery on the bluff is a sweet, 
quiet spot, more home-like than anything else 
in this strange land. 


1869] 


‘ ‘ Good-Morning ! ’ ’ 


23 


In the native city the principal street is called 
Curio street by the foreigners, and To-ri by the 
natives. Here the curious China lacquer and 
native woodenware are temptingly arranged. 

We have already learned a few words of 
their language, such as i-ku-ra (“how much ?”), 
arigato (“ thank you !”), yo-ro-shiu (“ all right ”), 
and others. But o-hay-o (“good-morning !”) has 
the clearest, most winning sound of all, and is the 
word we oftenest hear. 11 O-hay-o /” say the ser¬ 
vants early in the morning; “O-hay-o!” call out 
the children in the streets ; “ O-hay-o de goza-i 
masud politely say the men and women we 
meet on the hillside and in the native city. 

All this means simply “ early,” but to us is 
something more than a mere salutation. And 
how strange it all seems to us! It is indeed 
o-hay-o —“good-morning” — with this people. 
For many centuries they have lived in seclusion, 
and in a state of somnolence with regard to the 
rest of the world. Ever following the same 
customs, with fashion of dress unchanged, they 
have pursued the same beaten track of nation¬ 
al habit. But now they are just waking from 
their sleep ; and stepping forth into the light of 
a new morning, they are pleasantly and happily 
saying to the world at large, “O-hay-o /” 

And the prayer of God’s children is, “That 
this land, which catches the first beams of the 


24 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1869 


morning sun when it comes to light up the 
eastern hemisphere, may soon rejoice in the 
light of the Sun of righteousness.” And thus 
do the people of the West hold out the hand 
to this newly-awakened land, and with earnest 
congratulations call out to them in the same 
cheering tones, 

“O-hay-o /” (“ Good-morning !”) 



CHAPTER II. 


A LOOK AT THE PEOPLE. 


Different Classes of Japanese—Mikado—Kugis—Daimios 
—Samurai—Judges—Priests — Doctors — Merchants— 
Mechanics—Barbers—Coolies—Beggars—Religions of 
the Country—Work of Missionaries. 


HENEVER we stop to examine any 



object, a crowd collects around us. 


We soon learn to distinguish the different 
classes of people by their dress. Although 
there has been a great revolution in Japan, and 
the distinctions of caste , hitherto so marked, are 
passing away, we still observe great differences 
in the appearance, manners and dress of the 
people we meet. It may be well just here to 
note the various classes that gradually became 
known to us. 

At the summit stands the Mikado, or em¬ 
peror. His person was formerly considered 
very sacred. He was kept almost in seclusion. 
No one was permitted to look upon him except 
the very highest nobles. It is said that he had 
to submit to many tiresome forms, such as 
sitting motionless for hours on his throne, 

3 25 


26 


[I S70 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 

with a heavy crown upon his head. He wears 
richly-embroidered robes of silk, on which is 
stamped the chrysanthemum, the emblem of 
royal sovereignty. No one but members of 
the royal family or those nearest his person is 
allowed to wear this badge. It is probable that 
the use of this emblem grew out of this flower’s 
resemblance to the sun, which was once an ob¬ 
ject of worship among this people, traces of 
which worship are to be seen in relics of Sin- 
tooism still existing. 

Next to the emperor come the great lords, 
or Kugis. They wait in the sacred presence 
of the Mikado and kneel around the throne. 
In the pictures they are represented as wearing 
very high hats and robes with long trains. 
They are but few in number, and their places 
in the empire or exact prerogatives are not 
distinctly denned. 

The Daimios are the feudal chiefs, whose 
authority was very great until the revolution, 
when the progressive party, led by the Mikado^ 
(legitimate emperor), drove from his castle the 
Tycoon (usurping emperor) and completely 
broke up the feudal system, which had for many 
centuries prevailed throughout the empire. 
These daimios, although deprived of their 
special prerogatives, still retain the names of 
their provinces. There is the prince of To-sa, 


1870] 


27 


A Look at the People. 

of Sat-su-ma, the princes of Aid-zu, Su-ru-ga, 
and others. 

Until the revolution the daimios had as their 
retainers the Samurai , or Two-sworded men. 
These men were supported by the government, 
and had no employment except that of war. 
They spent their idle hours in various pastimes 
—fishing, hunting, wrestling, reading and play¬ 
ing with their children. With their wives and 
children they occupied low houses around the 
daimio’s residence, forming a large square 
enclosure, like barracks. Many of these still 
exist, and cover large spaces of ground. 

Where there were so many independent chiefs 
there was, of course, much fighting, and the 
Samurai were expected to be always ready to 
go to war. They were devoted to the interests 
of their lords, often dying with them or for 
them. 

Although the Samurai have been deprived of 
their support (except a small pension from the 
government for a limited term of years), and 
the wearing of the swords is no longer au- 
thorized, many of them retain their peculiar 
dress, which consists of a tunic and a wide 
skirt. They also retain their swords, wear¬ 
ing the long one on the left side and the short 
one concealed in their broad belts. They are 
the class with which we are brought most in 


28 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1870 


contact. Our teachers and scholars, and even 
some of the servants, are Samurai. They are 
the gentry and the literati of the country, and 
walk the streets with an air of conscious supe¬ 
riority. 

The judges (_ ya-cu-nin ) are greatly feared and 
reverenced by the common people. They wear, 
in addition to the garments of the Samurai, a 
coat of peculiar cut, which comes high up over 
the shoulders, but without sleeves. 

The priests ( bo-san ) form a large portion of 
the community. Their dress differs little in 
style from that of the Samurai, but their 
shaven heads give them an unmistakable ap¬ 
pearance. Besides those in regular priestly 
office, there are monks and nuns, who live in 
and about the temples, and whose duty is to as¬ 
sist in the ministrations there. Also mendicant 
friars are numerous, who go about the country 
drawling their prayers in low, monotonous tones 
and waiting at the doors of the houses until a 
few coppers are given. 

Japanese doctors traverse the streets in long 
robes, looking very solemn and wise. A boy 
walks behind them, carrying their boxes of 
medicines, consisting principally of powders and 
pills. They use blisters and the moxa to a very 
great extent. Their fees are very moderate. 

Merchants are privileged to wear one sword. 



COOLIES DRAWING CHARCOAL. 

BUDDHIST PRIEST. SAMURAI. 

Pages 27, 28 and 30. 


























































1870] 


A Look at the People. 


29 


They form the most solid and reliable part of 
the community. Silk-merchants occupy the 
largest stores. The beautiful silks and crapes 
manufactured in this country are not exposed 
to view like the more common cotton fabrics, 
but are kept shut up in the storerooms. At 
the other dry-goods stores the goods are dis¬ 
played on the shelves, the floor, or are hung up 
by the door-post. There are shops where more 
trifling articles are kept for sale, such as hair¬ 
pins, combs, powders and paints, and articles 
used in worship. There are large tea and 
rice establishments, and groceries, where beans, 
eggs, etc., are sold. Confectioners’ shops may 
be found, where children buy candy made of 
rice, beans and paste colored with seaweed. 
We see large china-stores, and are interested in 
the toy-shops filled with pretty things for the 
children, and in the book-stores, where the 
curious literature of the country is sold to 
those who wish to read. 

We find, too, a class in which the merchant 
and the artisan mingle their calling's—those em- 
ployed in the manufacture and sale of umbrel¬ 
las, shoes, fans, lamps, tables, chests of drawers, 
mats and other things, all exhibiting great skill 
and exquisite neatness. There are carpenters 
and smiths, masons, stone-cutters, lapidaries, 
and carvers in wood and ivory. Many are 


30 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

employed in making the beautiful lacquered 
articles, turning bronzes and manufacturing 
china-ware in every conceivable style. 

Barbers form a numerous class, and do an 
extensive work in keeping the faces of the men 
smooth and a bald place on the top of the 
head, while the heads of priests, old women and 
babies are often completely shorn. 

In the cities are jugglers, who perform won¬ 
derful tricks, and acrobats, who amuse the peo¬ 
ple by tumbling and wrestling, and geishas , or 
girl-minstrels, who sing and play upon the 
samisen , a species of guitar, and a popular in¬ 
strument in Japan. At night blind men, called 
a-mas, blow their shrill whistles in the streets, 
and are called on to rub sick or tired people. 
They profess to cure diseases by manipulation, 
in the same way that magnetic physicians have 
undertaken to do in our land, and they have a 
regular school for instruction, 

Nin-so-kus ( coolies ) are the most numerous, and 
form the lowest, class in the social life of Japan. 
These are they who bear the heavy burdens, 
draw the carts and perform the most menial oc¬ 
cupations. Even among them, however, distinc¬ 
tions may be found, as those who work in hides 
and leather are looked upon by the coolie race 
itself with great disdain, and are kept separate 
from all others. We presume this is owing to 


1870] A Look at the People. 31 

the fact of their coming in contact with the dead 
bodies of animals and being thus defiled, ac¬ 
cording- to the strict rules of Buddhism. 

Beggars .—Beggary is a profession in Japan. 
The beggar is doomed to beg all his life long, 
and to do nothing else. He besets the trav¬ 
eler on the highways, and waits about the tem¬ 
ple-gates to receive alms from those who are 
going up to worship. He sleeps where he 
can, and when death comes lies down by the 
roadside, few hearing or pitying his dying 
groans. 

Such is a description of the people we meet 
in Japan. Let us now look at the religions of 
the people. There are two principal religions 
in the land, Buddhism and Sintooism. 

Buddhism is an imported religion, coming 
through China from India. It was at first very 
simple in its details. Its founder, the first 
Buddha— the Sha-ka-sa-ma of the Japanese— 
taught mercy and tenderness. The first Buddha 
died, and his followers said that a great many 
wonderful scenes took place at his death. He 
and his five hundred disciples were deified, and 
images of them were made and worshiped. 
These are beautiful statues with mild, placid 
countenances, touchingly suggestive of mercy. 
Some of them are represented with three heads 


32 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1869 

and six arms, that “ they might better help men,” 
says a Japanese. 

Some of these images are called Ho-to-kes, a 
name applied to such as are not yet deified, but 
are on the calendar for that high distinction and 
retain all the elements proper to such a result. 
The gods Bin-dzu-ru , whose image we see in the 
temples as the Pain-god, and Gi-zo, who is in 
shrines by the wayside as the special protector 
of travelers, and in the cemeteries as the god 
who cares for the souls of the dead, are Ho- 
tokes. Mothers believe that the god Gi-zo 
watches over their dead infants in paradise. 

The Buddhist priests talk of abstractions, 
contemplations, absorptions and annihilations. 
Many sects have arisen, and the whole system 
has become very complicated. It is hard for 
the women and children to understand anything 
about it. And yet Buddhism is a wonderful 
system, and has a powerful influence over the 
human mind. Sometimes it appears in a refined 
and cultivated form and its votaries are schol¬ 
arly men. Even Christian missionaries cannot 
fail to commend the humanizing influences of 
this system. 

Sintooism is the native religion of Japan. Its 
probable origin is in the worship of the sun ( O- 
Ten-to-sama.) The moon ( Tsti-ki-saina ) is also 
an object of worship. The emperor (Ten-ski- 


THE SEVEN HAPPY GODS. Page 33. 









































1869] 


33 


A Look at the People. 

sama) is regarded as the direct descendant of the 
sun. Some deity must have made Japan, they 
say, and thus their fables and stories of gods were 
invented and images formed. Japan is filled 
with these images. We see them in the tem¬ 
ples and in shrines by the wayside, on the tops 
of the highest mountains and in the farthest re¬ 
cesses of the caves. Every house has its shrine, 
and the people carry about with them pictures 
or exceedingly small images of the gods. There 
is Ha-chi-man-sama, the god of war, and I-na- 
ri-sama, the god of rice, and Ye-be-su-sama and 
Dai-ko-ku-sama, the gods of riches, and many 
others. The image of the fox is worshiped as 
a servant of I-na-ri , because the animal is a de- 
vourer of the insects that are apt to feed upon 
the rice. The snake is one form under which 
the god Ben-ten appears. The horse, the image 
of which is seen in many temples, is the servant 
of Ha-chi-man-sama. These images are of 
all sizes, from the tiny Dai-ko-ku-sama, which we 
can scarcely hold in our fingers, to the colossal 
Dai-Butsu, on whose thumb we can sit with 
ease. 

Some of these gods are merry-looking fellows. 
There are seven who are called the “ happy 
gods” of Japan, and they all have smiling faces ; 
while others are hideous in their appearance, 
such as the red and green monsters who stand 

c 


34 


[1869 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 

at the gates of the temples to protect the other 
gods, and the frightful representations of Satan 
and his attendants. 

Now, the people say that these gods are in 
Paradise, and these images are only used as 
aids in worship. The most intelligent among 
the people deny that they are idolaters at all. 
However this may be, we find in Japan a min¬ 
gling of sentiments and ideas drawn from these 
two religions, so that Buddhism and Sintooism 
often blend in the eyes of the worshiper. In 
one respect both sects agree. They all wor¬ 
ship their ancestors , and thus show a Mongo¬ 
lian origin in common with the vast neighbor- 
ing nation, the Chinese. 

The writings of Confucius are much read in 
the empire. Confucianism is a system of moral 
teaching. 

Long years ago some Roman Catholic mis¬ 
sionaries were in Japan, and a great many peo¬ 
ple heard of God and of the Lord Jesus. For 
a time the missionaries were allowed to teach 
and the people to believe and worship as they 
pleased. But one of the Roman priests was 
foolish enough to tell of the power of his lord 
the pope, whose aim was universal sovereignty 
of civil as well as spiritual power. Upon this the 
government, fearing that the pope would come 
with a great army and take possession of the 


i86 9 ] 


35 


A Look at the People. 

country, entered upon a course of the severest 
persecution. They banished from the land all 
foreign priests and tortured the native Chris¬ 
tians, putting men, women, and even little chil¬ 
dren, into the prisons, or, still worse, pitching 
them into the crater of a burning volcano. 
They threw the converts from the great rock 
Shima-bara, which rises almost perpendicularly 
out of the water in the harbor of Nagasaki. 

The Christian religion was prohibited, and 
the edicts to that effect,, written in large charac¬ 
ters and nailed to high boards, were placed in 
conspicuous localities throughout the whole 
empire. A large cross of wood was made, 
and every year was brought out for the people 
to trample upon. Some of the earliest ideas 
we have connected with Japan are drawn from 
pictures in which mothers are represented as 
bringing their children forward to trample upon 
this cross. Such was the effect of Jesuitical in¬ 
trigue on the one hand and governmental jeal¬ 
ousy on the other that Japan for three cen¬ 
turies became closed to all Christian efforts, 
and held herself aloof from all civilized inter¬ 
course. - 

But since the visit of Commodore Perry of 
the U. S. Navy in 1854 the gates of Japan 
have been thrown open once more, and foreign¬ 
ers are again allowed to dwell here. Following 


36 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1869 

upon the soldiers, the sailors and the merchants 
came the missionaries, ready to spread the truths 
of the gospel, and to tell the Japanese, not of 
the power of the pope, but of the power of the 
Lord Jesus, whose kingdom, though not of this 
world, is yet an everlasting kingdom whose 
dominion hath no end. 

These missionaries are learning the manners 
and customs of the natives, and gradually 
winning: their confidence. Much of their time 
is occupied in studying the difficult language 
and preparing grammars and dictionaries; also 
in translating the Bible and other books for 
popular use. They are now distributing Bibles 
in the Chinese tongue, and also teach English 
to those who apply, using Christian books, and 
sometimes the Scriptures themselves, for that 
purpose. The missionary doctor treats the 
physical diseases of his patients and tries to 
lead them to the Great Physician. The mis¬ 
sionaries are watching, praying and waiting for 
the time to come when the gospel may be pub¬ 
licly proclaimed in Japan, and its people allow¬ 
ed full liberty to worship as they please. 


CHAPTER III. 


SUMMER DAYS IN YOKOHAMA. 


Climate—Walks through the Rice-Paddies—Trees— 
Flowers—Fruits — Birds — Animals — Farmers—A Pe¬ 
destrian Tour. 

HE August days pass rapidly in this new, 



X strange land. The weather is warm, but 
we have usually a pleasant breeze from the sea. 
Some days the rain comes down in torrents, for 
this is the rainy season in Japan. The damp¬ 
ness and heat make the vegetation very rank, 
and everything is fresh and bright and green as 
in early spring. There is little danger here of 
long-continued drought, and consequent famine. 

We often take long walks over the bluff to 
the rice-paddies and the fields where the farm¬ 
ers labor. The country immediately around 
Yokohama is rolling, and green bottoms and 
high grounds are beautifully variegated by 
clumps of trees and small forests, among 
which we recognize firs, cedars and oaks. In 
some places on the hillside the shade is so 
dense that the rays of the sun never penetrate. 
In the low, damp places fern and moss and ivy 

4 37 


38 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1869 

hide, and quantities of tiny wild flowers carpet 
the ground. Groves of graceful bamboo, their 
leaves stirring in the slightest breeze, give a 
peculiar charm to the landscape. 

Just now the beautiful white lilies are bloom¬ 
ing far up on the mountain-side, and we see 
the hydrangea with its great flowers of pale 
pink and blue. The lotus-flowers of red and 
white lie on their immense umbrella-like leaves 
upon the frequent ponds. These flowers are 
sacred to the Japanese; the Buddhas are repre¬ 
sented as sitting upon them, and golden lotus- 
flowers are found in the temples. We have 
many varieties of the chrysanthemum, which 
blooms from the early part of July until far into 
the mild Japan winter. While these flowers are 
beautiful to the eye, they are, for the most part, 
odorless. 

The summer fruits are pears, peaches and 
plums, also apples and apricots, but all of these, 
unless, it may be, the plum, are very inferior to 
the same in our own country, being hard and 
tasteless ; cooking alone brings out the distin¬ 
guishing flavor of the pears and peaches. 
Later in the season we shall have grapes, figs 
and pomegranates, and in the winter manda¬ 
rin-oranges and persimmons. These fruits are 
more decided in flavor. The oranges are small, 
but sweet, while the persimmons are large, and 


1869] Summer Days in Yokohama . 39 

hang upon the trees in the autumn like great 
golden balls. Why foreigners should call this 
fruit “ persimmon ” is not evident, for it in 
no way resembles the fruit of that name in 
America. 

Rice is to be found here, as in every country, 
in low, wet lands, and where the water is not on 
the ground and the fields are irrigated from the 
nearest springs. It is cultivated with great 
care, being the chief object of agricultural 
labor and the principal staple of food for the 
entire population. On the high ground we see 
millet, wheat, barley, buckwheat and other 
grains, mostly of an inferior quality. They 
are raised solely for the support of such ani¬ 
mals as may be in use among them. The 
Japanese do not eat bread, but there are now 
bakers who make a good article for the use 
of foreigners, and it is apparent, from the 
name they give to it {fiaii), that the French 
must have given them the first idea of so doing. 
They get their flour from California. 

There is a great variety of native potatoes 
besides the “ Irish,” the latter being very small, 
but palatable, while the native kinds are muci¬ 
laginous, and not acceptable to foreigners. 
Roots of the lily, lotus and bamboo are large¬ 
ly used by the natives. The radish {dai-kon) 
grows to a remarkable size, and is eaten by all 


40 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1869 


classes of the people. Often it is hung up 
until it begins to decay, and is then salted down 
for use. Egg-plants, onions and pumpkins are 
known, but the Japanese do not use vegetables 
as freely as we do, rice, the dai-kon and fish 
being their chief articles of diet. 

Grass, in this land, is of a very coarse quality, 
unfit for animal use, and we are not surprised, 
therefore, at seeing no sheep browsing upon the 
hillsides nor cattle feeding in the meadows. 
Owing to this, all attempts at grazing have 
hitherto failed, sheep and cattle dying from 
throat-disease produced by the coarseness of 
the grass. Still, we may hope that in the future 
even this great drawback may be overcome, 
and the time arrive when all over this green 
and lovely island flocks and herds will rejoice 
the eye. 

Tea {cha) forms the principal export of 
Japan, and is the universal beverage of the 
people. It is a low shrub, whose cultivation 
requires great care ; and when the time of pick¬ 
ing comes, it is leaf by leaf, close selection be¬ 
ing required. Cotton grow T s on the southern 
plains of good quality, "but it is only manufac¬ 
tured into coarse cloths, owing to imperfect 
native machinery. 

Tobacco of a mild quality is cultivated and 
largely used. The mulberry and the silkworm 


1869] Summer Days in Yokohama. 41 

are found in profusion. The silks of Japan 
are very beautiful and durable, and its crapes 
are unsurpassed. 

Animals .—In a country of so limited an area, 
with over thirty millions of people, it is not to 
be expected that many wild animals would be 
found. Cultivation often extends to the hierh- 
est hilltops, terrace rising above terrace, the 
land being tilled in the high places wholly by 
hand and without the plough. But sometimes 
bears, wolves and monkeys are seen. A 
wretched breed of dogs, small, scrubby horses 
and a few bullocks, with tailless cats, are the 
only domestic animals of the land. 

Birds twitter in the branches of the trees, 
but do not sing. Pheasants and cranes are 
here. The latter bird is national, and is con¬ 
sidered a sacred emblem ; their pennons, lac¬ 
quer-work, china-ware and fans are all embla¬ 
zoned with its figure. In the dense shade of the 
thickets we sometimes hear the plaintive notes 
of the un-gui-so , the Japanese nightingale. 
There are a few parrots, while swallows, rob¬ 
ins and crows are numerous. 

Farmers .—The farmers are a simple-hearted 
and industrious race. They have rakes, spades 
and ploughs of rude construction. Sometimes 
the ploughs are drawn by oxen, but just as 
frequently by men, women or children. They 


42 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1869 


show their kindness to animals by constructing 
awnings over their heads to protect them from 
the rays of the sun. Tea, tobacco, cotton and 
the various grains are packed in strong bags by 
the farmers, and sent to the cities on pack- 
horses. 

Work in the rice-fields is no easy task, for 
the men and women are obliged to stand in 
the water, while the sun beats down upon 
them, causing intense headaches. 

The rice-plant has a bright, peculiar green of 
its own, and from the time the young rice (i-ne) 
springs up until the ripened grain ( ko-me ) bends 
the stalk, the fields are very beautiful. The 
thatched farmhouses in the valleys and on the 
hillsides, the roofs sometimes scarcely distin¬ 
guishable from the hill itself, with trees and 
shrubs hiding their want of beauty, make pretty 
pictures. In the summer evenings the farmers 
sit on benches at the doors of their houses and 
smoke pipes, tell stories and exchange greetings 
with the passers-by. These farmers are very 
heavily taxed, and often rebel, causing much 
trouble to the princes and the general gov¬ 
ernment. 

Some of the missionaries have lately returned 
from a short pedestrian tour, and give a pleas¬ 
ant account of their trip. They have much to 
say concerning the beauties of the land—its 


1869] Summer Days in Yokohama. 43 

mountains and valleys, green fields and bright 
waters; but our interest is chiefly centred in 
speaking and hearing of the people, especially 
with reference to their preparation for the re¬ 
ception of the gospel which is to be given them. 
Much of interest and encouragement has been 
obtained. Bibles in the Chinese for the upper 
classes, all of whom read in this language, are 
being circulated throughout the country. Many 
are inquiring for them, and are anxious to study 
them. The teacher of one of the missionaries, 
who has just come from the capital, brings w r ord 
that one of the Japanese there has a school of 
ninety persons expressly for the purpose of 
teaching the Bible, and that he is determined to 
teach it even at the risk of his life. He is con¬ 
stantly armed and prepared to resist any attack. 
He also tells us that a man high in authority 
expressed a wish to have a Bible, and that he 
presented one to him. 

For these things especially are we praying— 
viz., that the laws against Christianity may be 
repealed, that the native converts may prove 
faithful, that the reading of the word may be 
blessed to the people, and that the work of 
translation may progress rapidly. We ask 
God’s people at home to unite with us in these 
petitions. Starting forth with these hopeful 
views in the very beginning of our missionary 


44 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1869 

efforts among this interesting people, and en¬ 
couraged by what has already been accom¬ 
plished, we wait upon our heavenly Father, 
asking him to crown our future labors with 
great success, that Japan may yet be the 
Lord’s. 




CHAPTER IV. 


A WINTER IN TOKIO. 


Tokio—Its Situation—The Castle—Emperor’s Garden— 
O-Hama-go-ten — Temples—A-sa-ku-sa — Shi-ba—Japan¬ 
ese Houses—Large Fires—The To-ri—Canals—Bridges 
—The Foreign Concession—Mu-ko-ji-ma—Sku-da-ji-ma 
—Winter Climate—Flowers and Fruit—Missionary 
Life in Tokio. 


OMING into Japan is like going back a 



V_✓ few centuries in the world’s history. Es¬ 

pecially has it so appeared since our home has 
been this little Japanese house, right among the 
people. We are glad to live in the great capital, 
although cut off from the privilege of intercourse 
with our own people enjoyed in Yokohama. 

The city of Tokio—the old Yedo or Jeddo— 
is on the east coast of the island of Niphon, the 
largest and most important of the Japan group, 
about eighteen miles north of Yokohama. The 
latitude of the city is 36° N. (about that of 
Raleigh, N. C., and Nashville, Tenn.), and lon¬ 
gitude 138° E. from Greenwich; its mean an¬ 
nual temperature being 42 0 Fahrenheit, it is 
subject to no extremes of heat or cold. Except 


45 


46 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

when, during some parts of the months of June 
and July, the heat and rain bring dampness and 
mould and swarms of mosquitoes, or occasion¬ 
ally in the winter, when cold and snow send the 
people in-doors to wrap themselves in thickly- 
wadded garments and shiver over charcoal 
braziers, the climate is remarkably pleasant, and 
the inhabitants can live most of the time in the 
open air. 

Yedo Bay lies to the east of the city. From 
the water the land rises into tolerably high 
wooded hills on the west. The river Su-mi-da 
comes over the plains from the north, and flows 
through the city to the bay. The river inter¬ 
sects the city, but the largest and most import¬ 
ant part is on its west bank. Mountains bound 
the horizon on every side. To the south-west, 
just where the sun sets in the winter, rises 
Fu-ji, the pride of the Japanese, the grandest 
thing the people know. Every one who pos¬ 
sesses Japanese pictures, fans or vases is fa¬ 
miliar with the peculiar truncated cone of Fu- 
ji-yama. It is an object of special reverence, 
and the shrine to which thousands of pilgrims 
resort every year to pay their devotions at its 
summit. 

Below Fu-ji is the Ha-ko-ne range, and still 
farther to the west the mountains of O-i. Across 
the bay are Ka-dzu-sa s hills, and farther to the 


1870] A Winter in Tokio. 47 

north, when the day is very clear, we can see 
the sacred mountains of Nik-ko. 

The emperor’s palace or castle, surrounded 
by a moat and three walls, stands on the high 
ground in the western part of the city. With¬ 
in the two outer walls are the low, unsightly 
houses of the princes. Here we see kugis 
and daimios riding on gayly-caparisoned horses, 
and occasionally a retainer ( Samurai ) running 
by their side, calling out loudly for all to make 
way as the master rides. 

Inside the third wall lives the Emperor, or 
Mikado, surrounded by his high officers. The 
house is built in the general style of all the 
houses, but is much larger and more elegantly 
finished. But to foreign eyes it is almost in¬ 
visible. Sentinels keep watch at some distance, 
and none are allowed to approach the sacred 
threshold but the favored princes and great 
dignitaries of the empire. 

There are a great many ya-shi-kis (residences 
of daimios) in Tokio, for the daimios were, until 
the time of the revolution, obliged to spend six 
months of the year in the capital. Most of these 
ya-shi-kis are now vacant, which is a great relief 
to foreigners, as we can go about the city with 
more freedom. There is less danger of meeting 
the trains of the daimios and the dreaded two- 
sworded men, who, under the influence of sa-ki 


4 8 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1870 


(the national liquor), are ready at any moment 
to draw their swords upon the hated foreigner 
in the streets. 

Near the castle are extensive pleasure- 
grounds for the exclusive use of the Mikado 
and his courtiers. Here he can hunt and fish 
without fear of intrusion or of being seen by 
unlicensed eyes. 

Near the Foreign Concession is the sea-side 
palace, O-Ha-ma-goten , another delightful place 
of recreation for the Emperor. He passes from 
one to the other in a no-ri-mo-no, a close sedan- 
chair. In the same manner he is carried to the 
field to review his troops, so that no foreign eye 
can catch the slightest glimpse of majesty. 

The finest buildings in Tokio, as indeed 
throughout all the empire, are the te-ras , or 
temples. These are large wooden buildings, 
usually painted red, with steep tiled roofs, turn¬ 
ing up at the eaves with a peculiar curve. 
They are almost invariably built in groves, 
where the shade is very dense. This gives 
them an additional solemnity. 

The gates of Buddhist temples are very 
large, and ornamented with dragons and ser¬ 
pents, flowers and leaves, in rude carving, 
while those of the Sintoo temples are plain and 
simple, with no attempt at ornament or decora¬ 
tion. It is only by this distinctive difference 


1870] A Winter in Tokio. 49 

that one can tell the character of the temple he 
is approaching. 

A-sa-ku-sa is one of the most noted of the 
temples in Tokio. It is quite near the river, in 
the north-eastern part of the city. The people 
throng its gates, and a broad stone walk which 
leads up to the temple resounds with the clatter 
of their wooden shoes. The way to the temple 
is lined with toy-shops, and the people who go 
up to worship stop to buy the frail playthings 
for the little ones they lead by the hand. We 
sometimes mingle with the crowds and watch 
the worshipers as they give alms to the beg¬ 
gars who crouch at the gates, then wash their 
hands in the stone basins near the steps of 
the main temple, throw their “ cash ” between 
the bars of a large contribution-box close by, 
pull a bell which hangs at the door, clap their 
hands and bow before the idols. 

The whole scene, though one of pagan idol¬ 
atry, cannot fail to remind us of the description 
given us of that greater temple originally 
designed as God’s “house of prayer,” but 
degenerated at the time of our Saviour’s com¬ 
ing into a “house of merchandise” and “a den 
of thieves.” There are the money-changers, 
the flocks of doves, the sellers of all kinds 
of merchandise, the same bartering and selling, 
and the ostentatious devotions of the worship- 
5 D 


50 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

ers, with the casting of gifts into the treasury 
over against the temple ; in all this you could 
well imagine how similar the scene to that in 
our Lord’s day, when, “ eaten up ” by zeal for his 
Father’s house, he indignantly drove the sacri¬ 
legious crew from the sacred precincts. It will 
require the same divine Hand to cleanse these 
pagan counterfeits of a holy temple and make 
them truly houses for the Lord. 

Within the building, taking off our shoes, we 
approach the altar, and are strikingly reminded 
of Roman Catholic churches by the gilded im¬ 
ages of the Buddhas, the burning tapers and 
artificial flowers. A table stands before the 
altar, on which are pyramids of candies, with 
carrots and radishes cut so as to show the 
inside of these vegetables: these are offerings 
to the gods. Here we see the worshipers pros¬ 
trate before the shrines, and mothers teaching 
their babes to clasp their little hands and bow 
before the idols. We watch the suffering ones 
going up to the Ho-to-ke Bin-dzu-ru (the “pain- 
god”) and rubbing him for the purpose of ob¬ 
taining relief from pain. 

At A-sa-ku-sa is the only pagoda in Tokio. 
Around the larger building are small ones, call¬ 
ed mi-yas, which are the shrines of particular 
deities. Within the temple-enclosure are ex¬ 
hibitions of dancing-bears, mountebanks, wax 


1870] A Winter in Tokio. 51 

figures and feats of jugglery. There are also 
booths where story-tellers amuse the crowd 
with strange and marvelous tales, recited in a 
nasal, sing-song style. You can tell how deep¬ 
ly interested the people are by their applause 
and shouts of laughter greeting the ear. 

Shi-ba, with its groves of magnificent trees 
and long avenues, lovely flowers, beautiful tem¬ 
ples and mi-yas, is the most attractive spot in 
Tokio. This is a long distance from A-sa-ku-sa, 
being in the south-western part of the city. 
These two temples just mentioned are the 
most noted in the city, but there are many 
others. 

Japanese houses are constructed of timbers 
from tolerably heavy wood, put together with¬ 
out nails and set right upon the ground. In¬ 
stead of doors, windows or partitions, slides 
are used, the outer ones made of plain paper 
pasted only on one side of the framework, 
while the inner ones, which serve to make sep¬ 
arate rooms, are made of beautifully-figured 
paper pasted on both sides of the framework. 
The whole house may be thrown into a single 
room by the removal, at pleasure, of these 
slides. 

For protection against thieves and the inclem¬ 
encies of the weather there are heavy wooden 
slides, which shut up the house effectually, 


52 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

making it close, dark and warm. The roofs 
of the houses are tiled or thatched, with pro¬ 
jecting eaves. The rain runs easily from these 
roofs, which project so far as often to exclude 
the light. Around the houses are little veran¬ 
das, the wood of which is very highly polished, 
and it is the pride of a good housekeeper to 
keep it bright and clean. The floors are cov¬ 
ered with white mats, which the people call 
ta-ta-mi , to distinguish them from the ordinary 
matting ( go-za ). These houses are generally 
one story and a half high, or from twelve to 
fifteen feet. Back of the houses are pretty 
little gardens, with artificial lakes and rivers 
crossed by tiny bridges. The Japanese are real 
landscape-gardeners, and contrive, by making 
artificial hills on their grounds, to put a great 
deal in a small space. 

The gardens, like the houses, are kept beau¬ 
tifully neat; but as they are all concealed from 
view, of course they add no beauty to the gen¬ 
eral appearance of the city. And it must be 
admitted that from the irregularity of the 
streets, the lowness of the houses and the 
entire want of artistic taste in their construc¬ 
tion, Tokio cannot well be reckoned among the 
beautifol cities of the world. The light material 
out of which the houses are built ignites very 
rapidly; and as the Japanese have no means of 


NTTHON BASHT 



























































































































1870] A Winter in Tokio. 53 

extinguishing fire, almost every night we hear 
the clanging of the fire-bells, and look out to 
see the horizon red with the flames of some 
extensive conflagration. 

All of the merchants have fireproof buildings, 
called ku-ra, in which their large stocks of 
goods are kept. These are made of adobe, 
or mud-plaster, and so smoothly polished as to 
resemble marble; and, though quite near the 
wooden houses, if a fire breaks out the light 
material quickly burns away, and the ku-ra 
remains untouched. 

The principal street is called the To-ri , as in 
Yokohama. It runs through the centre of the 
city from north to south, and is part of the To- 
kai-do , or east sea-road, which connects the two 
capitals, Tokio and Kioto, a distance of three 
hundred miles, and may be called the great 
national road of the empire. 

The city is intersected by canals, in which 
pass up and down boats loaded with rice, saki 
and charcoal. These canals are constantly 
crossed by arched bridges, in the construction 
of which great skill is exhibited. The most 
famous bridge in Tokio is Ni-phon Ba-shi , which 
crosses one of these canals on the To-ri. From 
this bridge all the distances throughout the 
empire are reckoned, and here the famous 
edicts against the Christians are posted. 


54 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

Across the river Sumida are many long 
bridges— Ye-tai Ba-shi, O-Ha-shi , the great 
bridge, Ri-yo-go-ku Ba-shi and A-dzu-ma 
Ba-shi. 

The Foreign Concession is in the eastern 
part of the city, lying along the bay. Its name 
(Tskiji ) signifies “made land,” and it has been 
conceded by the government for the use and 
residence of foreigners. At present the only 
European building there is the hotel, which is 
an object of great interest to the natives. It is 
of foreign construction, though built by native 
mechanics under the superintendence of a 
European architect. 

On the east side of the river Sumida is 
Mu-ko-ji-ma, where the famous cherry trees 
grow along the bank. In the spring, when the 
bloom is out, crowds of Japanese go over the 
river to see the flowers, to drink tea made of 
the blossoms, and thus celebrate the return of 
the cheerful season. Opposite the city is Sku- 
da-ji-ma, a little island where the fishermen live 
who supply the great city with the products of 
their labor. 

Our first winter in Tokio is quickly passing 
away, and yet we have never been without 
flowers, and the trees have been always green. 
Only once or twice has snow fallen, and then 
to melt away almost as soon as it touched the 


1870] A Winter m Tokio. 55 

ground. The days are almost always bright, 
the sky of a deep soft blue, and the waters of 
the bay sparkle in the sunshine. Sometimes, 
however, the wind blows a perfect gale, the bay 
is rough and dark, the windows rattle, and the 
cold penetrates with chilling effect. The wo¬ 
men in the streets have their heads wrapped 
up in their dznkins , or hoods, leaving only their 
eyes exposed, and hurry along to reach some 
place of shelter. 

Watchmen patrol the foreign settlement all 
night, striking their staves upon the ground as 
they walk, making a jingling noise: they are 
expected to detect thieves or give warning in 
case of fire. A strong guard is placed at the 
gate of Ts’kiji. We have heard something of 
the guard being attacked and one of them 
killed by outsiders. Tales of Ro-nins (out¬ 
laws from the provinces) ready to do anything 
desperate to drive foreigners from the country 
have reached our ears. 

Those who come into Ts’kiji have little 
blocks of wood with Chinese characters upon 
them hanging from their belts. These blocks 
answer to cards of admission, and no native 
can enter the lines without such blocks, which 
are given them by some official of the govern¬ 
ment. 

In the midst of all these dangers and alarms 


56 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

come pleasant little tokens of esteem from the 
few friends we have made among the people 
during the short time we have lived here. 
They bring the pretty winter flowers of the 
country—camellias and chrysanthemums and 
the bright red berry ( nan-ten ) which we ad¬ 
mire so much. Then they bring also oranges in 
neat boxes and baskets ornamented with sprigs 
of evergreens, or boxes of eggs and native 
sweetmeats; and all these evidences of kindly 
feeling on their part are very gratifying to us, 
who are so recently come, and still are stran¬ 
gers in a strange land. 

Our little house, which is rendered comfort¬ 
able by outside doors and windows, a small 
stove and a few other articles of foreign fur¬ 
niture, is crowded every day with the pupils, 
who come to learn English. One of my pupils, 
a bright, pleasant boy of fifteen, has learned to 
read this winter, and on Sundays studies Line 
upon Line. He has a great many questions to 
ask concerning our religion, and seems much 
interested. One day, not long ago, he said, 
“God must be very angry with the Japanese 
because they worship idols.” 

One Saturday he said, “To-morrow I shall 
come to read the Bible.” We asked him if the 
Japanese hated the Bible. “ Oh no,” he replied; 
“ they did once, but not now.” 


1870] 


A Winter in Tokio. 


57 


With him comes a little boy about six years 
of age. He wears straw shoes, which he slips 
off when he enters the house, and a queer coat 
tied in front with a cord and with very wide 
long sleeves; these sleeves are his pockets. 
His books, when not using them, are carefully 
wrapped in a square cotton cloth which he calls 
a fu-ru-shi-ki. These fu-ru-shi-kis are some¬ 
times made of crape or silk. 

A few days ago his mother, with hen little 
babe on the back of the nurse, came to call 
upon us. She was neatly dressed and of very 
ladylike deportment. We put the baby in a 
chair, and his black eyes danced as he lisped 
out in a clear, shrill voice, “ I-jin-san a-na-ta 
tai-san peg-gy /” which means, “ You foreigner, 
go away!" This he repeated over and over, 
greatly to the annoyance of his polite mother, 
whom we endeavored to reassure. We enter¬ 
tained the lady by showing her articles of dress 
and furniture, and she presented to us two 
handsome silk card-cases. 

A late steamer from Nagasaki brings the 
news that seven hundred Roman Catholic 
Japanese have been banished from their homes. 
In spite of edicts and persecutions, sometimes 
very bloody, this faith has had its adherents in 
that part of the empire through these centuries 
past. We cannot refrain from sympathizing 


58 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

with these banished ones, although we know 
their creed is a sadly perverted one. 

When we think of those who in years gone 
by have undergone all the tortures of Japanese 
prisons and suffered martyrdom for their faith, 
we are hopeful that all those who now profess 
Christianity among this people will prove faith¬ 
ful even to the end. 




1 


CHAPTER V 


HOME AND SCHOOL. 


Morning in Tokio—Interior of a Japanese House- 
Breakfast—Going to School—The Written Language 
—What a Japanese Girl Learns—The Baby O-ya-su- 
mi-na-sai—Japanese Homes—Position of Women. 

O one who has stood on the shore of the 



X \l sea waiting for the sunrise, and has seen 
the water taking on a pale pink, then deepening 
into crimson as the grand luminary comes forth 
above the horizon, and waited still longer to see 
it mount higher and higher, pouring down floods 
of light, until the sea catches up the glory and 
breaks in golden waves against the shore, can 
wonder at the homage paid to an obj’ect so full 
of wondrous beauty. There are those who 
know not the One whose servant the sun is. 

The worship of the heavenly bodies seems to 
us the purest, most natural form of idolatry; 
yet in the religion of the people around us 
we have evidence of the degrading effect of all 
worship of the creature instead of the Creator. 

We have pictures of great sunrise-festivals 
where crowds of people are assembled, with 


59 


6o 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1870 


banners and strange emblems held on high 
poles. Some are beating drums and some are 
praying, while others manifest their joy in songs 
and dances. Whether these festivals are still 
held in these islands we are not informed. Fre¬ 
quently, in our walks near the seashore, we see 
ropes stretched between two poles, to which 
long strips of paper are attached, and this 
seems to be connected somewhat with the old 
form of Sintoo worship. There is a story or 
legend of a to-ri-ye (Sintoo temple-gate) emit¬ 
ting a peculiar sound when the first beams of 
the morning sun fall upon it. The Mikado is 
supposed by the people to be the lineal descend¬ 
ant of the sun. His name ( Ten-shi-sa-ma ) sig¬ 
nifies “ child of the sun ” or “ son of Heaven.” 

This bright March morning in Tokio found 

£5 o 

very few people up to greet their O-ten-to-sa- 
ma’s rising. The wind was from the north, and 
fishing-boats were coming down the river to go 
out on the bay. Some fishermen, standing up 
to their knees in water, were washing their nets. 
The To-ri was all quiet and deserted; the busy 
traffic of the day had not yet begun. In the 
temples a few devotees lay prostrate before the 
altars, while over the city at nearly regular 
intervals fell the deep rich tones of Shi-ba’s 
bell. 

But it made no difference to the sun whether 


TEETH-BRUSHING. OLD MAN AT WELL. Page 61. 
























1870] Horne and School. 61 

there were many or few to welcome him as he 
brightened Fu-ji’s snow-crowned head, sent a 
long path of red light across the water, and 
shone upon the great city and on the house 
where our little neighbor O I-ne san lay asleep 
on her futon in a corner of a dark room. Her 
bed was made of blue cloth stuffed with cot¬ 
ton. These mattresses the people call futons. 
Her neck rested on a cushion on top of a 
wooden pillow. 

Just outside of the house, in an open court, 
an old man was drawing water from a deep 
well. The water of Tokio is carried by pipes 
into cisterns or wells from a river near the city. 
It is tolerably good, but sometimes becomes 
brackish, from the salt water in the bay, which 
gets into the pipes. The old man drew the 
water slowly by means of buckets attached to 
each end of a long rope which ran over a pulley. 
Two crows kept flying about his head: these 
birds in Tokio are the great scavengers, carry¬ 
ing off all the refuse. They are very bold, and 
will snatch fish from a man’s hand. They build 
their nests in the trees even by the palace, and 
look down unrebuked upon the emperor and his 
court. They have meetings upon the tops 
of the houses, and caw and clap their wings 
and twist their heads from side to side, until we 

look up to see what all the commotion is about. 

6 


62 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

They are not afraid of man, for man never 
injures them. 

Near the well, 0 Cho (“Miss Butterfly”) stood 
brushing her teeth. Her toothbrush was a 
straight stick made soft at one end, and she 
had a box of tooth-powder. She made a noise 
as if some one were choking her. Inside the 
house, O Kin (“ Miss Gold ”) was opening the 
wooden slides, which run in grooves cut in the 
veranda. She began with the farthest one, and 
ran along, pushing it before her, until it was 
stopped by the end of the house. Then she 
started for the second, and disposed of that 
in the same manner, until all the slides were 
at one end of the small veranda. 

The creaking of the well-rope, the caw-caw¬ 
ing of the crows, the toothbrushing process and 
the opening of the slides made noise enough to 
arouse any one, and O I-ne san opened her 
little almond-shaped eyes to see the sunshine 
pouring into the house. Then she remembered 
that she was going to school for the first time 
that day. O I-ne san was six years old, and it 
was time for her to begin to go to school. 

She got up from her bed and went into the 
kitchen, which is in the front of the house and 
is the most completely furnished part. Beside 
the range are large kettles for rice and hot 
water. There are immense earthen jars for 


JAPANESE KITCHEN. Page 62. 

1. Table. 2. Sauce-bottle. 3. China jar. 4. Cupboard. 5. Shrine. 6. Fruit-bowl. 7. Sa-ki-bottle. 8. Large plate. 9 and 10. Rice-boxes. 
11. Hot-water kettle. 12. Range. 13 Boiling-kettle. 14. Gridiron. 15. Salting-box. 16. Kettle. 17. Cutting radish. 18 Place where fire-wood 
is kept. 19. Water-jar. 20. Wash-basin. 21. Water-pail. 2-2. Dipper. 





































. 



































1870] 


Home and School. 


63 


cold water, and wooden buckets, dippers and 
ladles. Where the earthen jars are kept the 
floor slants, so that the water is easily carried 
off into drains. Here, also, is usually found 
the shallow copper basin which serves as a 
wash-bowl for the whole family. On shelves 
are platters and bottles, and hanging on the 
wall, sieves and a variety of strainers. 

When O I-ne san went into the kitchen, O Kin, 
with her cheeks all puffed out, was kneeling at 
the range, trying to make the charcoal burn by 
blowing. O Cho was cutting dai-kon (radishes) 
on a little table, using a large knife. When she 
saw O I-ne san she got up to take her some 
water in a basin, and handed her a toothbrush, 
with the pink powder. O I-ne san sat down on 
the veranda and washed her face and hands, 
wiping them with a little blue towel, and brushed 
her teeth. Then she slipped off her blue night¬ 
dress—Japanese always use blue where we 
prefer white—and O Cho helped her to dress. 
There were no buttons to fasten, no hooks and 
eyes, pins or strings, to render the process of 
dressing tedious. The loose garments of the 
Japanese are confined only by the broad belt. 

When O I-ne san was ready, she went in to 
say “ O-hay-o ” (“ Good-morning ”) to her father 
and mother. She found them sitting on the 
floor in a large room at the side of the house. 


64 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

The best apartment in Japanese houses is 
always at the farthest side or the extreme rear, 
opening into the pretty garden. We have here, 
as in many other Japanese customs, the reverse 
of our own style—kitchen in front and parlor 
in the back. The clean white mats constitute 
the only furniture of a Japanese parlor. By way 
of ornament there are pictures in crayon, or long 
scrolls with poems written on them in Chinese 
or Japanese character. There are also vases 
for flowers. No chairs, ornamental tables, mir 
rors, book-cases, or anything of that sort, can 
be found in a purely native house. 

The futons and pillows are carefully put away 
in the daytime. There are a great many little 
closets in these houses; the people have a 
wonderful way of economizing space, and even 
make drawers in their steep, narrow staircases. 
Tables which they use for meals, writing, or 
any other purpose, are small and only about a 
foot high from the ground. Some families have 
chests of drawers, and all possess baskets and 
boxes of all sizes and shapes. 

The charcoal brazier, or hi-ba-chi, is the only 
stove used by the people. These are made in 
various shapes, some of them being highly 
ornamented. They are invariably made of 
copper. They give more heat than one would 
suppose; but the Japanese are very dependent 



7 8 

1. Egg box. | 3. Pillow. 5. Rice-boxes. 7. Tea-pot. 

2. Paper of tea. 4. Hibachi. 6. Lantern. 8. Breakfast-table. 

Page 64. 


















1870] 


Home and School. 


65 


upon the sunshine for warmth, and throw open 
their houses to admit it even in midwinter. It 
is only on damp, cloudy days that the people 
really suffer from the cold. 

Were the houses like ours, these open char¬ 
coal fires would be dangerous, but the free 
ventilation here renders suffocation almost 
impossible. As it is, however, the constant in¬ 
halation of charcoal-fumes cannot be other¬ 
wise than injurious. 

Even the paper slides were open in the sit¬ 
ting-room of the Ka-ji-ma family this morning, 
and the light and air poured through the house. 
On the veranda hung pieces of glass, which 
tinkled pleasantly as the wind swayed them to 
and fro. O I-ne san calls her father and mother 
O Tot san and O Ka san. I-ne means “ young 
rice.” It is a pretty name for a little girl, for 
young rice is something very tender and pre¬ 
cious, and requires great care in its culture. O 
means “honorable,” and san, “miss,” so this 
little girl’s name all signifies “ Honorable Miss 
Young Rice.” And this is no unusual designa- 
tion. It is in accordance with the common 
habit of the land to give such. 

O Cho and O Kin brought in the breakfast. 
O Cho carried the little tables—one for each of 
them—and tiny china cups and plates. On these 
tables they placed chopsticks, and blue bowls 

6 * E 


66 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1870 


for the rice. O Kin brought the large wooden 
rice-box and the tea-pot. On a platter there 
were fish, cooked in the Japanese sauce, sko-yu , 
and some of the radish. O Kin helped to the 
rice with a wooden spoon, and poured tea into 
the little tea-cups. Then O Tot san and O Ka 
san and O I-ne san took their chopsticks in the 
right hand and pushed the rice into their mouths, 
eating as fast as they could swallow, washing 
down the food with cups of hot strong tea. 
The radish and the fish they also took up with 
their chopsticks. The radish had been cut into 
little pieces in the kitchen, and the fish was soft, 
so no knives were needed. 

When the breakfast was over, O Cho and 
O Kin tied up their heads in kerchiefs. O Kin 
took a straight stick with long strips of paper at 
the end for a dusting-brush, and slapped away 
at the slides inside the house. O Cho carried 
away the breakfast-things, then got a broom to 
sweep the mats. Housekeeping in Japan is an 
easy matter compared to the care of our larger 
houses, filled with so much furniture, but per¬ 
haps it would be better for the women if they 
had more duties to employ their time. 

It was now nearly nine o’clock. O Tot san 
went away to his business, and O Ka san and 
O I-ne san started for the school. O Cho 
walked a little way behind them, carrying some 


i 87 °] 


Home and School. 


67 


paper and the ink-box, which contains the 
camel-hair brushes and the India-ink. The 
school-house was just around the corner. Long 
before they reached it they heard the sound of 
children’s voices as they all read together. The 
noise in a Japanese school is deafening to us, but 
they do not seem to mind it. The black so-ski 
were hanging up before the door, where the 
children had put them to dry. These are their 
copy-books, originally of white paper, but writ¬ 
ten over so often that they become perfectly 
black. 

O Ka san called out at the door, “ O-go-men- 
na~sai /” (“Beg pardon!”) The schoolmaster 
opened the sliding door to admit his patron, 
and the noise suddenly ceased. O Ka san and 
O I-ne san made the usual courtesy, getting down 
upon their knees and touching the floor with 
their hands and foreheads. Their limbs are 
flexible, and from the power of habit they do 
this with perfect ease and grace. 

O Cho went down in the same prostrate 
manner a little way behind them. O Ka san 
told the teacher that her little daughter was 

o 

six years old; that she was very backward and 
had a very bad memory, but she wanted her 
to come to school. The teacher said, “ I shall 
be very happy.” Then O Ka san took the 
money, which was nicely folded up in a piece 


68 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

of paper, from O Cho, and gave it to the teach¬ 
er. This was a private school, and the charge 
for tuition was only a few cents per month, 
paid in advance. 

O Ka san then went back to the house, leav¬ 
ing O I-ne san with O Cho at the school. The 
scholars who were learning to write sat around 
the teacher with their copy-books on the floor. 
They held their brushes straight up in their 
hand and made long broad marks. O Cho 
untied the bundles she had, and gave O I-ne san 
some paper and her pen-brush. Then she got 
some water and poured it on the ink-stone, and 
rubbed the stick of India-ink in it. 

The teacher sat by O I-ne san’s side and 
showed her how to hold the pen. The little 
girl tried hard to copy the strange character 
given her. She felt lonely and a little fright¬ 
ened when she saw the other children gazing 
curiously at her. But a little girl whom she 
knew looked up and smiled at her, then crept 
to her side and said, “You have well come.” 

It is a difficult task even for Japanese chil¬ 
dren to master their own language. There 
are forty-eight letters in the Japanese alpha¬ 
bet, and two distinct sets of characters, the ka- 
ta-ka-na and the hi-ra-ga-na. Besides these, 
Chinese characters are extensively used. Some 
books are written almost entirely in Chinese. 


WRITING A COPY. SWEEPING AND DUSTING. Page 67. 



















- 












1870] 


Home and School. 


69 


The men among the higher classes all read 
this language, and even women and many of 
the lower orders are taught the particular cha¬ 
racters most generally in use. All the signs 
about the shops and the proper names used 
are written in Chinese character, and we always 
see the same on lanterns and fans, and, indeed, 
upon almost everything that is used by the 
people. 

The written language is entirely different 
from the spoken, so that it is almost like learn¬ 
ing another language for a child to learn to 
read, even after it can talk with fluency. The 
words used in letter-vinXAng differ both from 
the books and the colloquial, thus making 
another language for the children to learn; 
and if they do not, after all this is accomplished, 
attend the poetry-school, they cannot under¬ 
stand at all the poems of the country. 

The girls are taught how to sew and em¬ 
broider and make pretty little fancy articles, 
such as purses, chopstick-cases, bags and other 
things. Their needles are clumsy compared with 
ours, and they have thimbles open at both 
ends, and silk and cotton thread wound on 
pieces of wood. They also learn to play on 
the musical instruments of the country, the 
samisen, a three-stringed guitar, the bi-wa, a 
four-stringed guitar, and the ko-to, a thirteen- 


7 o 


The Sunrise Kingdom. [1S70 

stringed harp; also they are taught to play on 
the fife and drum. 

There are also tea-schools, where little, girls 
are taught how to make tea and present it 
gracefully to guests. We will say more of 
these hereafter. 

In.the afternoon, when O Tot san had come 
home from his business and O I-ne san and 
O Cho had come from the school, O I-ne san 
was sitting idly on the floor by O Ka san’s side. 
The mother was sewing in a way that appeared 
left-handed to us. The little girl heard voices 
at the door, and some one spoke out: “ O-ta-no- 
mo-shi-ma-sti” (“I call”). This practice of call¬ 
ing at the door is owing to the fact that no 
one can knock at these paper doors. It was 
a neighbor who had come in to have a lit¬ 
tle chat, and behind her was a servant with baby 
Kin-ta-ro on her back. The baby’s hair was all 
shaved from his head, and his eyelashes and 
eyebrows plucked out. His eyes were bright 
and his little brown face clean. He wore a lit¬ 
tle red crape cap and a long silk dress with wide 
sleeves. He would have been a funny-looking 
little man to us, but O I-ne san thought him 
very pretty. She looked for his hands and 
feet, and he lay quietly and laughed at her. 
But soon the neighbor said it was late, and 
went away, after they had all drank tea and 


1870] Home and School. 71 

had ku-wa-shi (“ sweetmeats”). Then the house 
was shut up for the night, and O Cho brought in 
the lamps. 

These lamps ( an-don ) are quite high, with a 
drawer in the bottom, where wicks are kept. 
Over the drawer is a place for the oil-can, and 
above that still, and protected by paper slides, 
is the little saucer in which the oil is put and 
the wick for burning. They are rather cum¬ 
brous, and not handsome. They stand.about 
two feet and a half from the ground, and are 
about fifteen inches square, all enclosed, with 
a sliding paper door which may be drawn up 
or down to increase or to subdue the light at 
pleasure. Besides these, the Japanese have 
tall wooden candlesticks with a sharp iron at 
the top, on which tallow candles are stuck. 

The lamp in the sitting-room gave but little 
light, but the charcoal in the hi-ba-chi was red 
and glowing, O Ka san having just fanned it. 
O Cho and O Kin brought in supper, which is 
the principal meal in a Japanese family. O Cho 
had made some nice soup of fish, with rice and 
other things stirred in while it was boiling. 
After supper the futons were brought out, and 
O I-ne san was undressed and put on her own 
little bed. O Ka san covered her with another 
futon, said, “ O-ya-su-mi-ma-sai ” (“rest”), and 
O I-ne san was soon fast asleep. 


72 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

Now the night has come, and O Tot san is 
writing at the little low table, occasionally read¬ 
ing aloud, and O Ka san is finishing the little 
garment she began to-day. What is she think¬ 
ing about ? 

As we sometimes close our eyes and en¬ 
deavor to realize the actual condition of the 
blind, so do I try to shut the eyes of my soul 
from the light of truth and form some concep¬ 
tion -of the darkness in which these heathen 
women are living. It has been said that Japan 
has “no home.” Like the French, the language 
has no word corresponding to our “ homeit 
is simply “ house ” or “ place of habitation.” 
In a country where the houses are all so open, 
it is needless to look for such domestic life as 
we find in our more favored land. The early 
marriages contracted by the parents, or “ go- 
betweens,” and entered upon often without 
love or previous knowledge on the part of 
those married, must naturally produce more 
or less unhappiness. 

Where the system of concubinage exists, and 
the children in a family scarcely know who is 
their own mother, and the women quarrel for 
the possession of the children, the picture of 
domestic life cannot but be far from pleasing. 
But there are some things in Japanese families 
which are very pleasant to us. The children 


1870] 


Home and School. 


73 


are taught implicit obedience, and are polite 
and respectful to their parents. They are 
petted and seldom punished. Fathers carry 
their little babies very tenderly and soothe 
them when they cry, and when they come 
from their work or office often bring home 
pretty toys for their little ones. 

Although the position of woman in Japan is 
superior to that in other heathen lands, it is by 
no means an enviable one. Woman in the 
family occupies an entirely subordinate place. 
A girl is subject to her father’s wishes. There 
is no such thing as “ coming of age ” for a girl 
in Japan. She is all her lifetime a mere sub¬ 
ject. When married she must obey her hus¬ 
band and father-in-law, and when a widow her 
son becomes her master. The baby-boy clings 
close to his mother’s side, and lays his little cheek 
against hers, and talks a language which she 
alone can understand. But as he grows up, too 
often he learns to despise her. There are 
happy exceptions to these statements, where 
the family-life seems pure and peaceful, and 
woman appears to have her rightful place. 

Yet with all this fathers seem to take great 
care of their little daughters. The best cloth¬ 
ing they can afford is bought for them ; they 
send them to school and are interested in their 
education, paying liberally whatever is required. 


74 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

In Japanese history every woman who has dis¬ 
tinguished herself in any way is given due 
credit, and mothers of great men are men¬ 
tioned with praise. And I know that the little 
O I-ne san, who lies sleeping so quietly on her 
futon, is very tenderly loved and cherished, and 
that her education, as well as her comfort, occu¬ 
pies her mother’s thoughts continually. 


CHAPTER VI. 


GOING TO «SEE FLOWERS 


Japanese Holidays—A Letter—Dressing the Hair— 
The Bath-House—A Little Girl’s Dress—Fans, Shoes 
and Umbrellas — Meeting Friends—Worship at the 
Temple—Mu-ko-ji-ma — The Feast—Going Home—So¬ 
cial Life—Spoken Language—May Days. 

HE Japanese knew nothing until lately of 



_L the Sabbath, the holy seventh day of rest, 
which our heavenly Father gave to the world, 
when he created it. But they know that it is 
necessary for man to rest, so they have always 
had a great many holidays. They celebrate 
the first day of the first month, the third of 
the third, the fifth of the fifth, the seventh 
of the seventh, and so on throughout the 


year. 


Then there are the I-chi-ro-ku. I-chi means 


“ one,” and ro-kzt, “ six.” Every day in the 
month which has a one or a six in it has been 
a rest-day. The first, sixth, eleventh, sixteenth, 
etc., are of that character. There are also the 
great religious festivals, which come principally 
in the summer. 


75 


76 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

The feast of I-na-ri sama, the “ rice-god,” is 
just over. It lasted three days, and in the 
temples drums were beaten without cessation. 
Once during the festival the god I-na-ri was 
brought out in his car, which was carried by 
people dressed in fantastic style, who were 
shouting, singing and dancing. Crowds fol¬ 
lowed the car, adding to the noise and con¬ 
fusion. If the god was really in the car, he 
must have been well shaken up, as it was 
rocked violently and turned almost upside 
down. 

Now the warm spring days have come. The 
trees at Mu-ko-ji-ma are white and pink with blos¬ 
soms. The camellias have just ceased bloom¬ 
ing, and in their place azaleas cover the hill¬ 
sides. Soon the wisteria and the purple iris 
will make the gardens beautiful. The people 
are all going out to “ see flowers,” and yester¬ 
day O Tot san, O Ka san and O I-ne san went 
with the others. 

The Ka-ji-ma family belong to the merchant 
class—by far the most reliable part of the 
community. The father has an interest in ex¬ 
tensive salmon and cod-fisheries at Ha-ko-da- 
di , a seaport-town of the island of Yeso, which 
lies a little to the north of Niphon. Besides 
the city home, they have a country-house at 
O-ji , a beautiful place in the suburbs of Tokio. 


1 87°] 


Going to “See Flowers .” 


77 


There O I-ne san’s grandmother, O Ba san, lives, 
and with her several aunts and a little uncle, 
Sen-ki-chi. 

A few days ago O Ka san sent a letter to 
O Ba san to ask if she and the aunts and Sen- 
ki-chi would meet them on the morning of the 
twenty-sixth (April) at a relative’s house near 
A-sa-ku-sa, and go with them to Mu-ko-ji-ma. 
O Ka san sat down on the floor by a little table 
to write her letter, took from a drawer some 
strips of fine white paper, and with a delicate 
camel’s-hair brush wrote in a fine hand the 
beautiful characters. There were a great many 
yo-ro-shi-kus and so-ro-so-ros and so-ro-do-mos in 
the letter—words which mean nothing, but which 
require great care in their use. These polite, 
meaningless words occupy much space, so that 
a letter may be two or three yards long without 
really containing much information. 

When O Ka san had finished writing, she 
pasted the several strips of paper together, 
then folded them, turning down the corners in 
a peculiar way. Then she took from a little 
closet a lacquered box, put the letter inside, 
tied around the box a silken cord which had 
a pretty tassel at each end, and sent it by a 
messenger to O-ji. The answer soon came. 
O Ba san and all thanked O Ka san very much, 
and would be very happy to go with her. The 
7 * 


7 8 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

answer came in the same box in which the letter 
was sent. 

O I-ne san went to bed thinking of the pleas¬ 
ant time she would have going to “see flowers” 
with her little playmate and uncle, Sen-ki-chi. 
She was very anxious for fear it might rain, 
and the last thing at night looked out to see 
the stars shining in the sky, and the first thing 
in the morning to find the day bright and clear. 

The hairdresser came early with little bottles 
of oil and wooden combs and strings and pads. 
She combed O I-ne san’s long hair, oiled and 
twisted it, and rolled it over pads. O Ka san 
brought some red crape, all crinkled and 
dotted with white. It looked very pretty in 
O I-ne san’s black hair. The little girl sat very 
still until the hairdresser had finished. Then 
O Cho took her to the bath-house, which was 
quite near. The steam poured through the 
roof, looking almost as if the house were on 
fire. Inside, people were in a large tank, 
laughing, talking and splashing the water. O 
Cho put O I-ne san into the tank with the 
women and children. 

The Japanese use very hot water for their 
baths; we could not endure such heat. They 
have no soap, but depend entirely upon the hot 
water to make them clean. They are a very 
cleanly people in this respect, using the bath 


1870] Going to “See Flowers .” 79 

often. Yet the fact that many bathe in the 
same water no doubt may account for much 
of the cutaneous disease so prevalent. 

When O Cho took O I-ne san to her home, 
she put on the little girl her pretty new clothes 
—a dark silk dress and a broad, long red sash. 
This sash was five or six yards long, and was 
wrapped round and round the girl’s waist, and 
looped behind. Then O I-ne san’s face was 
powdered until it was quite white. Her lips 
were stained a brighter red than their natural 
hue, and her finger-nails were colored brown. 

Clean white stockings—or, rather, very low 
socks—made of cotton cloth, with a separation 
for the large toe, so as to be adapted to the 
shoe, were tied around the ankles. Pretty 
hairpins were stuck in her head, and a little 
bag, serving as an amulet or charm, was fas¬ 
tened to her belt. 

O I-ne san’s toilet was now complete. O Ka 
san’s dress, except being plainer in color, was 
like her little daughter’s. It is a remarkable 
thing that Japanese women wear no jewelry. 
The belt and the hairpins are the only orna¬ 
ments they wear. Some of the hairpins are of 
amber and very costly, and the belts, or broad 
sashes, are of heavy brocade silk with gold 
and silver threads beautifully inwoven. No 
woman’s toilet is complete without a fan, 


80 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

which they learn to use very gracefully. In 
their sleeves the women carry their paper 

handkerchiefs and purses made of silk, and 

sometimes little bags or cases for tobacco, 
snuff or chopsticks. 

Fans, shoes or sandals, and umbrellas are 
an important part of out-door attire. They 

have two kinds of fans— u-chi-wa , answering 
to our palm-leaf, and o-gi, those which open 
and shut. They are mostly made of paper 
and bamboo, some very cheap (half a cent 

apiece) ; while others are of a much higher 
price, and some, made of silk, will cost two or 
three dollars. They are painted, ornamented 
with gold and silver paper, and embossed 
with fine silken figures, some very beautiful. 
All persons, men, women and children, carry 
fans. 

Three pairs of shoes were waiting in the 
vestibule. Japanese never wear shoes in the 
house. O Tot san’s were made simply of 
wood, with a plain strap for the toes. O Ka 
san’s and O I-ne san’s were made soft by straw- 
work on top, and had velvet straps. They 
wore no hats, but all carried umbrellas. There 
are two kinds of ka-sa (umbrellas)—the oiled, 
which are used to protect against the rain, and 
those not oiled, used only as sun-shades. The 
umbrellas for men and women are black and 


1870] 


Going to “See Flowers 


81 


white, while those for little girls are often of 
bright, pretty colors. 

O Cho and O Kin, in clothing made in the 
same style, but of plainer and coarser texture, 
walked a little behind them. So they all went 
away from the house, which was carefully shut 
and put under the charge of a neighbor, and 
went down a side street on to the To-ri, O I-ne 
san keeping tight hold of her mother’s hand. 
They crossed Niphon Bashi, and saw the large 
boards which had written on them the edicts 
against Christianity. Then they turned off the 
To-ri, and went to the east, toward A-sa-ku-sa. 
It was warm, and O I-ne san was glad when 
they reached their relative’s house. They 
found the party from O-ji waiting for them, 
and O Ba san came out to greet them. She 
wore a dark-gray dress and a black belt. She 
smiled pleasantly, and called O I-ne san “ Bo- 
ya,” which means “darling.” 

By this time all the party had gathered 
together, and they bowed many times and 
said: “Well come, compliments, pleasant weath¬ 
er ; and for yesterday, day before yesterday, 
and the favors of long ago, thanks!”—words 
sounding very disconnectedly to our ears, and 
yet no doubt perfectly intelligible to the par- 
. ties addressed, as conveying expressions of po¬ 
liteness and good-will. 


F 


82 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

Cups of tea were now brought, that all might 
refresh themselves before going to the temple. 
The crowd kept increasing as they neared A-sa- 
ku-sa—people of all classes, dressed in their 
best, going to Mu-ko-ji-ma. O Ba san bought 
a fan for O I-ne san. She took it and touched 
it to her forehead; this was her way of thank¬ 
ing her grandmother. They all went under the 
large red gate, up the broad walk to the steps 
of the temple. O I-ne' san saw the bell and the 
idols and the flocks of doves. They threw 
money into the contribution-box, went up the 
steps into the temple, bowed low before the 
altar, and clapped their hands. This was 
doubtless to call the god’s attention to the 
fact of their worship. 

After they had performed their devotions, 
which were very brief, their only prayer being 
a repetition of the name of the god, they left 
the temple and went on down to the river. 
This they crossed in a low, flat-bottomed boat, 
in which were many fellow-passengers. The 
name Mu-ko-ji-ma signifies “opposite island,” 
but it is really a part of the main land. The • 
cherry and peach tree walk was lovely in the 
sweet spring sunshine. The trees were one 
mass of blossoms, and their branches interlaced 
over the broad avenue. O I-ne san looked up 
to see the pink and white flowers, catching 



JAPANESE HOTEL. 


Page 83. 









































































































1870] Going to “See Flowers 83 

occasional glimpses of the blue sky. She saw 
the river flowing peacefully along, and the sail¬ 
boats gliding swiftly by. She watched the 
crowds of men, women and little children like 
herself. Some of the women carried large 
dolls in their arms, dressed like real babies. 
Perhaps they had no children of their own, and 
so played with dolls to occupy the time. Many 
of the people carried branches of the trees. 
They laughed and talked and sang, and ap¬ 
peared to be very happy. It would all have 
been beautiful if they had sung and spoken 
sweet, pure words, but their language was 
often very low and obscene. So we see that 
flowers and beautiful things in nature do not 
lead people to holiness. 

Our party now went into a large hotel upon 
the river-bank. The landlord came out to 
meet them with many bows, and told the ser¬ 
vants to take them all up stairs. The servants 
asked what they would have for dinner, and 
they ordered tai, a kind of fish much prized, 
an omelette and eels. Some tea was brought, 
and candy made of rice and sugar, to eat while 
they were waiting for dinner. They opened 
the slides and sat where they could see the 
river and the boats. 

In less than an hour the servant brought the 
little tables and the rice-box and some more 


84 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1870 

tea. On an immense platter they had the fish 
and omelette, with side-dishes consisting of 
potatoes and red and yellow beans. The eels 
were served in lacquered boxes, with sharp 
skewers run through them, and dai-kon (rad¬ 
ish) and horse-radish were brought on small 
plates. 

They all ate, drank and talked, and had a hap¬ 
py time, after which O Tot san paid the bill— 
about a boo (twenty-five cents) for each member 
of the party—and then they all returned to the 
uncle’s house. It was now growing dark, but 
the uncle said they must come in to hear O Tsu- 
ru san sing and play on the ko-to. They ac¬ 
cepted the invitation, went in and listened to the 
song. It was called E-no-shi-ma, the name of a 
beautiful island on the coast, and was about the 
trees and mountains and little children. 

And now it was time for O Tot san and O Ka 
san and their happy but tired little girl to go 
home. O Cho took O I-ne san on her back. 
She held flowers tightly in one hand, and the 
new fan she had carefully put away in her 
sleeve. The sun had gone down; O I-ne san 
saw the people carrying lanterns. No one 
is allowed to go out at night without a lantern. 
She heard the whistle of the blind a-mas, and 
looked at the lights in the houses as she passed. 
She was warm and comfortable, and tenderly 


1870] Going to “See Flowers!' 85 

carried because she was tired. She saw the 
stars in the sky, but did not know very well 
what they were. Long before they reached 
home she was fast asleep with her head on 
O Cho’s shoulder and the pink blossoms still 
held in her hand. 

It does not seem that the Japanese have any¬ 
thing corresponding to our large social in-door 
gatherings. The bath-houses are places of 
meeting and gossiping, and we see the people 
going in pleasure-boats on the Sumida or to 
the temples and public-gardens. The religious 
festivals give them frequent opportunities of 
meeting in a social way. 

It is easy to tell when a festival is in progress, 
for the usually neglected children in the streets 
have their faces washed and powdered and hair 
smooth, and are neatly dressed. The babies 
have clean faces and look very smiling. The 
streets are ornamented with lanterns, and from 
the tops of high poles gayly-colored papers are 
flying, and the gates of the temples are throng¬ 
ed by crowds of worshipers dressed in their 
best. 

The people appear to be very happy, but it 
is not pleasant to find that under the politeness 
and courtesy so lavishly displayed are hidden 
depths of corruption. They drink and quarrel, 
and the women have sore troubles, and bitter 



86 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1870 


tears to shed, and often take their own lives 
to end the misery for which they know no 
remedy. 

There is no such thing in Japan as plain, 
honest dealing between man and man. Every¬ 
thing must be done by means of a “go- 
between ” ( na-ka ), through whom all bargains 
and sales on business, marriage, and everything 
else, are conducted. 

The language itself discovers many peculiari¬ 
ties in the character of the people. It is syl¬ 
labic, each syllable being distinctly pronounced. 
The distinctions of caste, and the relation of 
the speaker as a superior, inferior or equal of 
the person he addresses, are expressed by the 
use or omission of honorific prefixes and affixes. 
The humility, real or affected, professed by 
them is evinced by such expressions as “ I reach 
it up to you ” and “ You reach it down to me,’’ 
as expressive of “your superiority” compared 
with “ my inferiorityand then they add to 
this the free use of the honorific O. 

Another peculiarity of the Japanese charac¬ 
ter is clearly brought out in the polite phrases 
and circumlocutions by which a disagreeable 
conclusion is reached. Those who have lived 
in the country know well the meaning of “ I 
have had a bad cold,” “ My father is sick,” as 
an excuse for absence or neglect of duty. 


1870] Going to “See Flowers 87 

Such expressions, and many other expletives 
or redundant phrases commonly used, they do 
not consider as falsehoods, because they are in 
such common use, and not intended to be taken 
literally. Thus, “It is poison to my soul that I 
could not do more for you,” and “ I have made 
a great noise,” said on leaving the house one 
has been visiting, are expressions that no one 
would accept as other than simple courtesy. 

There are no abstract nouns and no words 
to express delicate shades of meaning. As an 
instance of the latter, the word na-ku (“ to 
cry ”) is used for all the sounds made by dumb 
animals, as well as to express the crying of a 
human being. The word ne-ru means “ to 
sleep,” or merely “ to lie down,” and is used to 
convey the idea of grass being laid prostrate 
by the wind. 

Words are merely arbitrary forms used to 
express our ideas. Where the idea is insignif¬ 
icant, there can be no depth of meaning in the 
word; and when we consider the comparative 
littleness of the things which Japanese words 
signify, we can gain some idea of their value. 
What are their ideas of truth, virtue and love ? 
and what, consequently, do these words convey 
to them? In natural objects take, for instance, 
our word “ star.” Does their corresponding 
word ho-shi mean to them a great central sun 


88 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1870 


with planets revolving around it, or merely a 
little taper in the sky ? And apply their word 
for “ god ” ( ka-mi ) to the Sintoo deities, and 
consider the meaning it conveys to them. We 
have already seen how low and degraded that 
idea is, and “ god ” only represents that thought 
of their minds. 

Although there is no special depth to the 
spoken language, it is like music in its sweet¬ 
ness and rhythm. There are no harsh com¬ 
binations of syllables, and the words flow easily 
from the lips even of little children. And their 
manners correspond with their language; for 
when they meet, they bow low, and with pro¬ 
fuse external ceremonies combine the most 
polite forms of speech. They never offend 
one another in word, and politeness never 
fails them in any circumstance. 

Family names are derived from various 
sources. Ta-ka-ha-shi , Ko-ba-ya-shi , Ha-ya- 
shi, A-ka-ba-ya-shi, meaning respectively “high 
bridge,” “little forest,” “ forest ” and “ red for¬ 
est,” are instances. It is well, in reading Jap¬ 
anese proper names, to remember that ya-ma 
means “ mountain ;” ka-wa, “ river ha-shi , 
“bridge;” ha-ya-shi, “forest;” and sa-ki, “cape.” 
The great mountain of Japan previously men¬ 
tioned we call Fu-ji-ya-ma, but by the people 
is generally called Fu-ji only. The Sumida 


1870] Going to “See Flowers .” 89 

is spoken of to us as the Sumida-ga-wa 
(“ river ”). 

Boys’ names always end in ta-ro, ji-ro and 
ki-chi, as Mi-chi-ta-ro, Ta-ke-ji-ro and Sen-ki- 
chi. And if we leave off the termination and 
prefix the honorific 0 , we have the girls’ names 
—viz.: 0 Mi-chi, 0 Ta-ke, 0 Sen. San is a 
common termination to all names, meaning 
indiscriminately “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” “Miss” and 
“ Master.” 

And now May has come to us in Tokio. It 
is a lovely month in Japan as well as at home. 
A few days ago we drove in a trap around the 
castle-walls. A perfect forest of trees sur¬ 
rounds the residence of the Mikado, and the 
beautiful green bank slopes from the outer wall 
down to the moat. On one side of the road 
are hedges, beautiful now in their spring fresh¬ 
ness. It is hard to realize, as we look upon 
the fair landscape and apparently firm struc¬ 
tures before us, that this is a land of earth¬ 
quakes, and yet, on the night before, our house 
had been rocked like a ship at sea, and after 
the first severe shock we had a series of slight¬ 
er ones which kept us uneasy for some time. 

We have a little Sunday-school now, and 
some priests from Shi-ba come almost every 
day for Bible instruction. This is a new 
feature in our work. Their attention was di- 


90 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1870 


rected to Christianity by reading Goodrich’s 
General History of the World with a Japanese 
teacher. We hope that they are sincere, and 
will vet be brought to believe in the Lord 
Jesus. 



CHAPTER VII. 


RO-KU-BAN. 


The New Mission-House—The Typhoon—A Class of Boys 
—Young Samurai—The Bible Class—The Ya-cu-nins 
—Our New Year. 

HE new mission-house, on lot No. 6— 



X Ro-ku-ban —of the Foreign Concession, is 
opposite the island Sku-da-ji-ma, just below the 
place where the river Sumida empties into the 
bay. It is made of wood, with tiled roof and 
walls, and boasts of veritable doors, windows 
and a chimney. 

The house was built by Japanese workmen, 
under the superintendence of one of the mis¬ 
sionaries. The location is pleasant and health¬ 
ful. Directly in front is the bay. From the 
upper veranda we can almost look down into 
the junks and sail-boats as they pass. The 
north windows command a view of the river, 
and to the south-west we can see Shi-ba’s 
magnificent trees. 

The distant mountains, on pleasant days, are 
beautiful, standing out clear and distinct against 


91 


92 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

the sky. Far above the others rises old Fu-ji, 
in summer of a soft, deep purple hue, and in 
winter all glittering and resplendent as his 
snow-crowned head catches the sunbeams. 

One Sunday, soon after coming over here to 
live, we had a fearful storm of wind and rain. 
In the fall the north and south winds have terri¬ 
ble battles, which last until the north wind pre¬ 
vails and brings cold, clear weather, occasionally 
with snow. In the spring the conflict again 
begins, and the south wind gains the victory ; 
then we have heat, dampness and frequent 
rains. 

In August and September we expect these 
typhoons (Chinese tai-fu, “ great wind ”), but 
they are not so severe here as in China. 

Typhoon of September .—This was a wild 
storm, and lasted nearly all day. The bay 
was a grand sight; the waves dashed over 
the breakwater as though they would like 
to sweep us all away. Rain and wind, with the 
sound of the angry waves and the noise of the 
falling tiles and timbers of the yet-unfinished 
house, made that Sabbath-day one of terror. 
Some Japanese were killed not far from us by 
a falling house. 

But the storm ceased suddenly, and there 
was a “ great calm.” The bay was as quiet as 
if nothing had ever occurred to disturb it. The 


Ro-ku-ban. 


93 


1871] 

sunset was magnificent. Bands of crimson 
and gold stretched across the western horizon, 
and eastern sea and sky were brightened by a 
golden light slightly tinged with pink. Directly 
overhead, in an ocean of deep blue, floated 
clouds of a rich salmon-color. It is not often 
that we have a sunset scene like this. 

A large boy whom we call Ma-ki has been 
reading for some months with us. He is a 
plain and delicate-looking person, but exceed¬ 
ingly kind. A week seldom passes without 
some little token of gratitude from him. The 
gifts are sometimes rather peculiar. Once he 
brought a live cricket in an exquisitely-made 
bamboo cage. The Japanese are very fond of 
hearing these insects sing, so they cage them 
and feed them on cucumbers. Mine was care¬ 
fully fed, but it did not sing very long. 

I have had two classes of boys this winter, 
one rather plebeian in its nature, consisting of 
Ru-so, the barber’s boy, Chiu-taro, a merchant’s 
son, the son of the hotel-clerk, and others. All 
of these boys were diligent. The other class 
was quite aristocratic, consisting of nine or ten 
little Samurai from Sat-su-ma’s country. They 
all wore two swords, even those who were so 
small that their eyes just came above the table 
when they stood around it to read. They were 
nice little fellows, and the afternoon was pleas- 


94 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

antly spent in teaching them. It is a grief to 
me to think of them all as scattered now, I 
know not where. 

On the first Sabbath of December one of the 
missionaries began a Bible class—the first ever 
attempted in the Tokio mission. It was held 
in the parlor of the new house. A fire was 
kindled in the large stove, benches were 
brought, and the dark-skinned, black-haired 
natives gathered in to hear the teaching of the 
word. Outside, the sun was shining brightly, 
the bay sparkling in the glorious light, and sail¬ 
boats were gliding noiselessly by. Some of 
the young men had English, and some Chinese, 
Bibles. The verses were carefully explained 
in Japanese, and at the close the pupils heard 
a prayer to the true God for the first time. 
Friends at home would have been much grati¬ 
fied could they have seen the earnest attention 
paid by the pupils. These meetings were kept 
up, with increasing interest, for several weeks, 
and we hoped and prayed that great good 
might result from them. 

Christmas came on Sunday. On the day 
before, we went to U-ye-no. This is a charming 
place. From some of the tea-houses there are 
fine views of the great city and the river. It is 
said that the government intends to establish 
a hospital there. In former days there were 


1871] Ro-ku-ban. 95 

temples and mi-yas here as beautiful as those 
at Shi-ba, we are told, but during the revolution 
of 1868 a battle was fought at U-ye-no, and, 
with the exception of a few small temples, we 
saw nothing but ruins. 

In one temple we found some women with 
heads shaven like those of the priests. They 
were beating drums, ringing bells and reciting 
prayers in a loud tone, making more noise than 
we could endure. They diversified their wor¬ 
ship by drinking tea and smoking. While 
wandering about the really beautiful grounds 
we discovered an immense idol. We sat down 
to look at him, and felt ourselves very small in 
comparison, for he was thirty feet high. He 
wore a very complacent look. The winter day 
was warm and bright, after the sun had dis¬ 
sipated the morning mist. The rich sunlight 
poured through the trees, and the quiet retire¬ 
ment and beautiful scenery made the day a 
pleasant one. 

On Christmas-day the class assembled as 
usual; but a few days after, we heard that some 
one had informed the ya-cu-nins at the custom¬ 
house of their meeting, and that these officers 
were going to report to the government, so 
that the pupils were in danger of losing their 
liberty, if not their lives. The missionaries 
felt it to be their duty to warn the pupils of 


gG The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

the threatened danger, and it has resulted in 
breaking up the class. Even the interesting 
school of little ones has dwindled down to 
four scholars. 

A few young men are coming to read the 
Bible privately. They creep cautiously, by 
night, over the fields, or singly in the daytime, 
to elude the vigilance of the ya-cu-nins. Our 
new year (1871) has thus dawned rather sadly 
upon us. 

“ Oh,” said one of the missionaries as we 
discussed these things, “ if O-ga-wa should be 
cast into prison, I would stop all work here, and 
do nothing for a while but write home, begging 
God’s people to pray for us. Only prayer can 
be of any use now.” 

We are forcibly reminded that the death-pen¬ 
alty still exists, and that the cross of Christ is 
a shame and a dishonor here. “ I fear not im¬ 
prisonment or beheading,” said a young Japan¬ 
ese. “I want to study the Bible.” We stood 
by one of the front windows of the mission- 
house. The day was dark, the waves dashed 
sullenly against the breakwater, and the way 
seemed dark to us. 

Thus it often is in the morning. The sun 
comes up clear and bright, and we imagine that 
all the day will be fair. Then clouds arise, 
hide the blue sky from view, and it grows 


1871] 


Ro-ku-ban. 


97 


dark, but when they roll away we find not only 
that the sun has still been shining behind them, 
but that he has really been mounting higher 
and higher, and growing each moment brighter 
and stronger. 

9 Gr 




CHAPTER VIII. 


PICTURES AND BOOKS. 


Ancient Warriors — Court-Ladies— Daimios— Ha-ra-Ki- 
ri—Jo-ro-rei—Japanese Books—Religious—Historical 
—Encyclopaedias—Allegory"—Moral Teachings—Poet¬ 
ry—Novels. 

THEN we go to call on our Japanese 



friends in the city, they usually enter¬ 


tain us Yvith pictures. These look to us like 
strange caricatures, but no doubt appear to 
them perfectly natural, and even to our eyes, 
as we become more familiar with the land, they 
lose much of their grotesqueness. 

True, the Japanese have no proper idea of 
perspective, and they put into the picture what¬ 
ever they consider would look Yvell there, with¬ 
out regard to true size or relative position; but 
these objects, viewed singly, are all delineated 
with a great degree of perfection. Thus, trees, 
birds, flowers, fish and human beings are accu¬ 
rately described as looked at individually, but 
when grouped together there is a most gro¬ 
tesque disregard of all proportion and proper 
position. There are but few animals in Japan, 


98 


1871] Pictures and Books. 99 

and this accounts for the invariably absurd, and 
sometimes hideous, delineations found on their 
vases and in the carvings of the temples. It 
would seem as if they had heard of such things, 
and their vivid imaginations had attempted to 
depict them, but in this respect there is an utter 
failure. 

These pictures are, however, interesting as 
giving us an insight into national life and 
society which could not be otherwise obtain¬ 
ed. We see ancient warriors ready for battle 
or fighting with brave, composed faces. The 
dress is very peculiar, and looks to us exceed¬ 
ingly cumbersome. There are pieces of armor 
for the protection of head, breast and limbs, and 
we see them bearing all the ancient weapons 
of war—swords, spears, bows and arrows, and 
battle-axes—and over all are gorgeous robes 
with wide, full skirts, and pennons streaming 
from head and shoulders—a marked contrast 
to the simple dress and accoutrements of the 
modern soldier. 

We also look at pictures of court-ladies in 
white robes and with hair streaming down their 
backs. Their eyelashes and eyebrows are 
plucked out, but a tinge of dark paint higher 
up on the forehead supplies the loss. They 
are represented as playing on the samisen, the 
ko-to or the bi-wa, ard embroidering rich robes, 


ioo The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

and painting beautiful flowers or butterflies on 
silk. 

Then we have views of the interior of ya- 
shi-kis, and see the daimios at their great feasts, 
where the saki is drunk and songs sung, and 
where geishas and dancing-girls entertain the 
guests. Or we see these great lords walking 
in the fields, complacently viewing their broad 
possessions; and some of the pictures show us 
farmers kneeling at their feet, begging relief 
from their oppressive taxation. 

We then look into the private reception-room, 
where sometimes the daimio, in the presence of 
his retainers, performs the solemn act of Ha-ra- 
Ki-ri (disembowelment). This is done under 
the sense of a real or imaginary insult; and 
when a high officer is subjected to the death- 
penalty he has the privilege of inflicting it upon 
himself, and thus escaping all disgrace. 

Many of these pictures represent the jo-ro- 
reis, which are large establishments where the 
women live who sell themselves or are sold, 
when children, by their parents. This is 
esteemed no particular disgrace in Japan; for 
a girl to sell herself to relieve the poverty of 
her parents is considered the highest proof of 
filial virtue. The names of the most celebrated 
of these jo-ros are on every child’s tongue, and 
their pictures are painted in most brilliant colors. 


1871] Pictures and Books. 101 

Books .—In printing books, blocks of wood, 
with the letters cut on them, are used. These 
are thickly blacked with India-ink and sheets 
of paper put on, and the impressions are then 
caken by a simple and rapid process. In course 
>f time the letters on the block are worn down, 
ind this accounts for the faintness of some of the 
words in their books. They have no binderies, 
but all their books have paper covers, stitched 
in their own peculiar style. 

As is usual with all Oriental books, they 
begin at the last page (as it appears to us), in 
the back of the book, and read down in columns 
from right to left—precisely the reverse from 
what it is with us. 

The best literature of the Japanese is bor¬ 
rowed from their neighbors, the Chinese. 
Their religious books are written in this lan¬ 
guage, but sometimes their own characters are 
intermixed. These are stories of the gods and 
Buddhas. Some of their illustrations repre¬ 
sent mild, placid Buddhas sitting calmly on 
lotus-leaves, and others fierce, ugly little devils 
and frightful scenes of the Buddhist places of 
torment. 

In their historical books, in which Chinese 
characters are also largely used, there is so 
much of the fabulous history of the gods, set 

forth in fantastic allegory, combined with the 

9 * 


102 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

stories of their heroes, that there is little satis¬ 
faction in reading them. 

The encyclopaedias, which are embellished 
with pictures, are more interesting to us. 
There is one queer old book of this sort in 
which the impressions of the people in regard 
to different countries are described. In one 
picture the men of a certain country are repre¬ 
sented as having long ears which serve as a 
covering in the night. These encyclopaedias 
are very copious, embracing all varieties of 
subjects and giving the Japanese ideas upon 
things foreign as well as home-born. They 
sometimes run up to nearly one hundred large 
volumes, are profusely illustrated, and are the 
most handsomely printed of all books published 
in Japan. The illustrations given are very in¬ 
teresting as portraying the ideas held by that 
people in regard to many things in Nature. 
Thus, in one we have their conception of thun¬ 
der—a terrific-looking god in a dense cloud 
striking with a drumstick the dark surface. 
Their island is also set forth as resting upon 
a turtle, the uneasy movements of which cause 
the earthquakes so frequent there. 

The Japanese are very fond of allegorical 
literature, and many books of that kind may 
be found in their libraries. The most famous 
of them is the Mu-so-bi. This is the name of 


1871] Pictures and Books. 103 

a man who traveled through the air, visiting 
many different kingdoms—as they are called—- 
such as Childhood, Avarice, Lying, and others. 
He tells what he saw in them all. In the king¬ 
dom of Childhood he found funny little people 
who could neither walk nor talk, and had no 
teeth and no hair. In the kingdom of Lying he 
came across a notice upon a schoolroom-door 
stating that the teacher would begin a class 
there on a certain day. He went at the ap¬ 
pointed time, but no teacher was there. This 
was repeated several times, until he went after 
the teacher and asked him the reason of such 
strange conduct. He replied that to teach 
lying was his special object, and this he did 
by action rather than by word. 

In his descent into the kingdom of Avarice 
he became entangled in the branches of a tree. 
The people of the country were so afraid that 
they would not receive a proper equivalent for 
their services that he could hardly persuade 
them to bring ropes and ladders to rescue him 
from his perilous position. 

None of these books are very intelligible to 
Japanese women, except to those who reso¬ 
lutely break over the barriers of restraint and 
are ambitious to acquire more learning than is 
usually allowed them. They are kept back 
from learning the Chinese characters, and of 


104 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

course find it impossible to get the full sense of 
what they read. For them, however, books of 
a special kind on topics of morality are pre¬ 
pared. The most celebrated of these is the 
On-na-Dai Ga-ku (“ Womans Great Learning”}. 
Every girl is expected to read this book and be 
well acquainted with its contents. It is written 
in large, straggling Chinese characters, with the 
Japanese ka-na (alphabet) in the margin of 
each column. It consists mainly in the enumer¬ 
ation of many petty duties, with frequent in¬ 
junctions to women to be quiet and not talk 
too much. It says: “Until children are six 
years of age boys and girls may sit on the 
same mats at school, but after that they must 
be separated. . . . Girls must learn to read 
well, and afterward to sew. . . . When they 
are seventeen or eighteen they must remember 
that in a short time they will leave father and 
mother and go to a new home. . . . They must 
remember, also, that the father-in-law and the 
mother-in-law are the husband’s parents, and 
try to love them.” Of the seven reasons for 
divorce, the first is disobedience to the mother- 
in-law. A woman may also be divorced if she 
has no child. 

This book also says: “ Children must be 
obedient to their parents, attend diligently to 
their business, get up in the morning in a good- 


Pictures and Books. 


1871] 


105 


humor, and eat what is set before them with¬ 
out looking around, complaining or asking 
questions.” 

There is also a particular book on obedience 
to parents. They have some stories of Confu¬ 
cius and Mencius, the great Chinese sages; 
among these will be found many good and 
useful maxims, worthy of a place in the litera¬ 
ture of any land, but the greater part is a com¬ 
pilation of ethics exceedingly dry and of little 
profit. 

“Japanese poetry,” says one of their own 
people, “ is like a tree with its roots, trunk and 
branches.” It is very difficult for us to under¬ 
stand the precise meaning of this, but their 
poetical history seems to be the root, the short 
poems the trunk, and the various renderings 
and meanings the branches. Even to the na¬ 
tives the poems are so difficult, and the words 
used differ so materially from both the ordinary 
book-language and the vernacular, that unless 
they attend a regular poetry-school they are 
never able to comprehend their meaning. 

The great book of Japanese poetry is the 
H' -ya-ku-nin-shi (“ The One Hundred Poems”). 
These were written by one hundred persons, 
among whom were a number of women. The 
first poem in the book was written by Ten-ji 
Ten-no, a great man of ancient times, and is 


io6 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

about the “ full, round harvest-moon.” The 
fifteenth day of the eighth month is the moon’s 
festival, and this poem is written in honor of 
that. To us its brevity is worthy of notice, for 
it consists of only twenty-six characters, occu¬ 
pying the space of not more than a single 
stanza of a hymn. And yet so hidden is its 
meaning, demanding in its interpretation the 
unfolding of symbols, the bringing forth of his¬ 
toric and ethical lore—in fact, so deeply myste¬ 
rious is it—as to require the efforts of the most 
learned men ( < ga-ku-shas ) to expound it before 
a wondering audience. It is said that it would 
take a Iona- lifetime to learn the meaning of 
these hundred poems, and yet they are con¬ 
tained in a book in length three inches and 
a half, in width two inches and a half, and just 
half an inch in thickness, and then fully two- 
thirds of each page are taken up with an en¬ 
graved illustration and deep margin. It seems 
to be the essence of all the learning, history 
and poetry of all the ages reduced to an al¬ 
most infinitesimal point. 

It may be interesting to consider several of 
the poems said to have been written by women. 
Ji-to-ten-o sings about “white” things. “Al¬ 
though spring is past ” (the cherry-blossoms 
faded), “there are still white things—white 
cloths spread out to bleach, and snow on Fu- 


1871J Pictures and Books. 107 

ji.” The idea here is expressive of purity. 
Ko-rna-chi was a beautiful woman. In reply to 
the praises of her admirers she spoke of fading 
flowers: “ My body will likewise fade.” I-se 
and U-kon tell us of love: “No matter how 
short the time may be, we think it long when 
separated from our loved one.” I-dzu-mi-shi- 
ki’s strain is familiar: “ In this world we love: 
shall we love again ? I am far away from the 
one I love: shall I meet him again in this world ? 
But if not, shall we love in the next? Even 
then I would see him a^ain here.” In Sei-so- 
nan-gon’s poem we have something of the root. 
The daimios were obliged to spend six months 
of each year in Tokio. During the time of 
the To-ku-ga-wa dynasty there were apprehen¬ 
sions of trouble at the capital from the prov¬ 
inces, and the daimios were compelled to leave 
their wives in Tokio as hostages when they 
returned to their separate homes. Most of 
these princes were obliged to cross the Ha-ko- 
ne Mountains. There was a gate at the one 
pass over these mountains. Ya-cu-nins were 
stationed to search carefully every woman who 
approached the gate, lest she might prove to be 
the wife of a daimio returning with her husband 
to their home. The women of the ya-shi-kis 
had their hair dressed in a peculiar way, and so 
were easily recognized. Sei-so-nan-non said, 


io8 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

“ I lie awake at night to listen for the voice of 
the bird. But there are many obstacles in our 
path in getting to those we love.” (The word 
translated “ obstacle ” is applied to the gate 
above mentioned.) The swan, in his capacity 
as letter-carrier (for which in China he is 
sometimes used), is the bird for whose voice she 
listens. We can perceive in these few instances 
something of the meaning of the one who rep¬ 
resents the poem as a tree. Its roots are set 
in symbols and hidden facts ; its trunk is the 
poem as it appears to sight; and its branches 
are the renderings and explanations which a 
skillful expounder can give to such terse effu¬ 
sions. In no other way do we see how this 
expression can be interpreted. 

There’are also a great number of novels in 
the language, written in the easy colloquial. 
They are to us insipid stories, all about lovers 
and tyrants. They commonly exhibit a marvel¬ 
ous facility of extension, the same novel being 
carried through hundreds of volumes. One 
of them has been translated into English, and 
is the usual tale of a girl who sold herself in 
order to save the family from poverty and 
ruin, but is rescued by her lover, Sa-ki-shi. 
It ends in a familiar, and even home-like, style: 
“ Of course all their sorrow was now turned into 
joy; nor had they suffered in vain, since the 


1871] Pictures and Books. 109 

trials they had undergone had thoroughly tested 
the strength and constancy of their affection. 
. . . Being distinguished for filial duty and 
affection, they were blessed with a numerous 
offspring, and led henceforward peaceful and 
happy lives.” 

The women have no books to read except 
dry books of ethics and these novels. Some 
books on the distant provinces, on the produc¬ 
tions of their own country or its history, might 
be made quite interesting for the women if 
written in characters and language intelligible 
to them. 

We must take another chapter to consider 
a very important class of books—those de¬ 
signed for the use of the children of Japan. 

10 



CHAPTER IX. 


GAMES AND TOYS. 


Japanese New Year—Division of Time—Mo-chi—Orna¬ 
ments—O-mi-so-ka—Money—Driving away Evil Spir¬ 
its—New Year’s Festivities—The Dolls’ Feast—Games 
-Toy-Shops—Japanese Children. 

HE year just closed has been a long one 



X with the Japanese. It was leap-year, and 
the tenth month was doubled, making the year 
to consist of thirteen months. And now New 
Year’s day has come late in February. It is 
very difficult to understand the Japanese divis¬ 
ion of time. They reckon by cycles and dynas¬ 
ties in numbering their years. 

They divide the year into twelve months, 
naming them respectively first, second, third, 
etc. These months consist of thirty days each, 
and thus, after certain intervals, to make the 
solar and lunar year agree, they put on the 
additional month. 

The people are busy for many days in pre¬ 
paring for their New Year’s festival. We saw 
them making mo-chi in the streets all through 
the city. This is rice beaten in a mortar with 


no 


1871] Games and Toys. 111 

a little water until it becomes a thick, hard 
paste, bearing little resemblance to the original 
ko-me. It is dried in cakes, and baked over 
the hi-ba-chi. This is very much liked by the 
people, but rather distasteful to our palates. 

The houses are all ornamented with branches 
of the pine, dai-dai (a kind of orange), bamboo 
and plum-blossoms. These are placed over or 
near the entrance. The pine tree is an emblem 
of perpetual joy ; dai-dai means “ from genera¬ 
tion to generation,” and expresses perpetuity 
of family. The bamboo never changes its 
color, and is a symbol of constancy. It is 
straight, and thus teaches man to be upright. 
The plum tree blossoms in cold weather, and 
shows us that man should rejoice in time of 
trouble. 

The houses are also ornamented with deep 
fringes of straw, which look very handsome as 
they wave in the wind. Cooked rice in a pyra¬ 
mid represents the island of eternal happiness, 
which they imagine to be somewhere. A crab 
shows their desire for longevity, and fish-skin 
is a sign of politeness and a desire to have 
their gifts graciously received. 

The day before New Year’s is the O-mi-so-ka, 
the great day of casting accounts. Then the 
merchants close up their business transactions 
and collect their debts. Every one is busy 



112 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

settling up affairs, to be ready to begin afresh 
the new year. The little girls of Tokio have 
a song about the O-mi-so-ka, which they sing 
when bounding their balls. 

Japanese money is very curious to us. They 
have in circulation gold, silver, copper and scrip- 
iron cash—coins of very small value—were 
formerly used. The largest gold coins are the 
o-ban and the ko-ban, the great and small ban. 
These are of an elliptical shape, and are not 
often seen at the present day. There are also 
small gold coins of various values; but having 
been extensively counterfeited, they are not in 
general use. Our principal coins in use now 
are the silver boos, ni-shius and i-shius, of the 
respective values of twenty-five, twelve and a 
half, and six and a quarter cents. These are 
oblong in shape, with Chinese characters 
stamped upon them. 

There is also a variety of copper coins; the 
largest is the elliptical tempo (one cent). The 
smaller coins are worth one-fifth, one-sixth and 
one-tenth of a tempo. Then there are the 
paper satz (or scrip), the rio (one dollar) and 
the ni-bu , ichi-bu , ni-shiu and i-shiu , or two boos, 
one boo, half boo and quarter boo. This scrip 
is the principal money in circulation, but is 
easily counterfeited. 

O Tot san is away at Ha-ko-da-di, and O Ka 


CASTING OUT EVIL SPIRITS. 




p 

(rc 

n 












iS7i] 


Games and Toys. 


113 


san and O I-ne san are at O-ji, spending the 
holidays with the grandmother. On the O-mi- 
so-ka the house was carefully swept, the few 
vases and other ornaments arranged neatly, 
the former filled with camellias and other 
flowers. Pine branches, bamboo, oranges and 
plum-blossoms were put over the doorway. 
The children watched all the preparations 
with great interest. 

At night they did something which would 
seem very curious to American children. The 
servants brought parched beans, and O I-ne 
san and Sen-ki-chi put them in boxes, and 
then sprinkled them all over the floors. This 
was to drive out the evil spirits. It is a strange 
custom, but at the same time suggestive. It is 
a good thing to commence the new year with 
banishing evil spirits, though what connection 
beans had with it we could not see. 

O I-ne san was up long before the sun rose 
this morning. She slipped quietly out of the 
house, got some water from the well, poured 
it on her ink-stone, rubbed it with ink and 
wrote a copy. She did this very quickly, 
before Sen-ki-chi joined her. Why was this ? 
When there are two or more children in a 
Japanese family, they see which one can get up 
the earliest on the first morning of the year, 

wet their ink-stone, and write the first Chinese 
10 * H 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1871 


114 


character. The fortunate one will be the best 
writer of the family. Often the pine ornaments 
are burned before a temple, and with them the 
children put their “ copies.” The higher the 
wind blows the paper, the more famous will 
the child be as a writer—so say the children. 

When Japanese meet on New Year’s morn¬ 
ing, they say, “ O-me-di-to ” (“ Great happiness ” 
or “ Many congratulations ”). The women smile 
and say, “ The spring has come,” although the 
weather may still be quite cold. As in our 
country, the gentlemen go out to call, and the 
ladies, dressed in silks and crapes, and with 
hair ornamented with amber hairpins, remain 
at home to receive their guests. It has been 
remarked that either this custom was intro¬ 
duced by the Hollanders into Japan, or that the 
Hollanders derived it from the Japanese; it is 
uncertain where it originated. The sweetmeats 
are arranged on little tables in pyramids, and 
beautifully ornamented with sprigs of pine 
and flowers. These sweetmeats, with tea, are 
offered to the guests, who usually bring a 
present. A picture represents a gentleman 
starting out on these calls as attended by a 
boy with a boxful of presents, which consist 
generally of pieces of silk, crape, hairpins and 
dried fruits. 

All little girls in Tokio have battledores and 


1871] Games and Toys. 115 

shuttlecocks, and look very happy as they toss 
up the pretty feathers, counting all the time. 
O I-ne san’s new battledore is very large and 
handsome, and the under side is covered with 
beautiful crape. All the little boys in Tokio 
are playing with kites to-day; these are made 
in various shapes and painted in bright colors. 
Some of them represent men with arms ex¬ 
tended, and some birds, and others, which they 
seem particularly to like, represent dragons, 
devils and evil spirits. 

There are singing kites, which in the air emit 
sounds like those produced by the passing of 
wind over wires. And whilst flying them the 
boys chant, 

“ Blow, wind, blow ! 

The god of the wind is weak; 

The god of the sun is strong; 

Blow, wind, blow!” 

Fathers and mothers are playing with their 
children, and the whole city is filled with pleas¬ 
ant sights and sounds. The New Year’s feast 
continues for seven days. The schools are 
all closed, and there is nothing but play and 
rejoicing. 

On the third day of the third month, O I-ne 
san will have a happy time. It is the little 
girls’ holiday, the feast of dolls. The dolls are 
arranged on shelves sloping one above and a 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1871 


116 


little back of another, the emperor and his wife 
occupying the topmost shelf. Then a feast is 
prepared of white sweet saki and two cakes 
of mo-chi, placed one above another on a dish. 
The under cake is green, and the other white. 
Whether there is any special significance in this 
I cannot say. This feast is first offered to 
the dolls, who, not being troubled with sensa¬ 
tions of hunger and thirst, do not partake 
heartily; so the children have the benefit of 
it all, and drink the saki and eat the mo-chi 
with great satisfaction. 

Japanese dolls ( nin-gi-yo , “ resembling men ”) 
are very worthy of consideration. They are 
as much like real babies as anything can pos¬ 
sibly be, and we are frequently deceived by 
them as we see the women carrying large 
dolls in their arms. The best dolls are made 
in Ki-o-to. They are of wood, with real hair. 
The others are made of a kind of composition 
and are very frail, being in constant danger of 
losing heads and limbs. A-sa-ku-sa is the prin¬ 
cipal mart for dolls in Tokio. Some of the 
dolls there are beautifully dressed like grown 
ladies, with several changes of headgear. The 
women in the ya-shi-kis play with these large 
dolls, dressing them in fine clothes, and taking 
them out with them when they go to call. The 
little girls have tiny futons and pillows for their 


1871] Games and Toys. 117 

dolls, and little dishes, but they are just as fond 
as American children of playing with broken 
plates and cups and all sorts of make-believe 
things. 

Playing ball is the favorite amusement of 
girls. Some of their balls are very pretty, 
being covered with bright silk threads. They 
bound them on the ground with their hands, 
counting the beats in a sing-song style, and 
often keep them going an almost incredible 
number of times. Boys seldom play ball, but 
are contented with stilts, tops and kites. 

The little girls also play, with small bean-bags, 
a game similar to our childish one of jack-stones. 
These bags they call te-da-na , and they are very 
dextrous in managing them. They have also 
games with little cards, matching them and 
playing “ grab.” Checkers, which they play in 
various ways, among which “ go-bang ” is promi¬ 
nent, are used by the men. The word go-bang 
means “ five checkers.” 

One of the most singular amusements for 
children is called h'ya-ku mo-no ga-ta-ri (“ the 
one hundred things”). A hundred tapers are 
put into a large saucer of oil and lighted. The 
children sit quietly down in a dark corner of 
the room, at some distance from the lights, and 
begin to tell ghost-stories, with which Japanese 
literature abounds. Then one child is sent to 


118 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

extinguish a light. When this is done, the 
story-telling again begins, when another child 
is sent to put out another light. The stories 
become more and more frightful in their charac¬ 
ter ; the room becomes darker and darker as 
light after light is extinguished; the imagination 
of the children becomes more excited, until the 
room seems to them filled with hobo-oblins and 

o 

demons; and at last the screaming little ones 
rush from the house, and the game is over. 

Japanese children have a great deal done for 
their amusement. We often pass large toy¬ 
shops filled with pretty things for them, such 
as windmills, kites, tops, balls, dolls, toy cats, 
dogs and other animals, all highly colored. 
The children who play about the streets are 
merry little people; they have sparkling eyes 
and bright, intelligent faces, and seem to enjoy 
their sport as much as little ones at home. 
Many of the girls have babies strapped on their 
backs. These babies’ heads roll from side to 
side, and the poor little unprotected eyes blink 
in the sunshine. Some of these children are 
covered with loathsome sores. Skin-diseases 
are very common here. 

It is said that Japanese children do not cry or 
quarrel as do those in our land. Several causes 
have been assigned for this. Though parents 
are very strict in exacting obedience, they do 



and 2 . Beginning and end of H’ya-ku-mono-gatari. 3 - Street-children. 

Page 118. 













i8 7 i] 


Games and Toys. 


119 


not subject their little ones to so many orders 
or restraints. Then their clothing is much 
lighter than in this country, giving more free¬ 
dom to their limbs, and they are more the 
children of nature than of artificial life. And 
another cause may be found in the fact that 
they have less vitality and nervous energy 
than European or American children have, and 
hence are more indifferent to both pleasure and 
pain. These little Asiatics are quiet and patient 
generally, content to go on in the same routine 
day after day. They do not give us so much 
to write and talk about as the children of our 
land, with their pretty sayings and doings. 
They do cry sometimes, and their screams 
are long and loud. 

The mission of the little street-children has 
been very sweet to us. When we first came 
here, the people seemed like inhabitants of 
another planet. The only way we could gain 
any feeling of kinship was by shutting our eyes 
to their strange customs and letting the sound 
of the children’s voices in their happy laughter 
or grieved crying enter our ears. It was then 
that we heard familiar sounds, and realized that 
these strangers are indeed our flesh and blood. 
And so we pray God to bless the little children 
of Japan. 


CHAPTER X. 


WHAT LITTLE CHILDREN READ. 


The Names of their Books: “The Ape and the Crab” 
—“The Rat’s Wedding”—“Mo-mo-taro”—“Kin-ta-ro” 
—“The Tail-Cut Swallow”—“Story of Sho-set-su”— 
“ The Treasure.” 


HAT has our little O I-ne san to read ? 



V V Hundreds of small books with bright 
pictures, the chief peculiarity of which is that 
the story is written, not under the pictures, but 
on their face. We have some before us—gay 
little specimens of infant literature, and filled 
with intensely glaring illustrations of men and 
animals in every grotesque form and dress. In 
each picture are scattered columns of curious 
characters, to us incomprehensible, but contain¬ 
ing to them the story designed to be illustrated. 
Let us now glance, by the aid of an interpreter, 
at what a few of these stories will tell us. 

The Ape and the Crab .—A hungry Ape met 
a Crab with a piece of mo-chi in its claws, and 
to his begging for it the Crab promised he 
would give it if he would go home with him 
and gather some persimmons from the tree. 


120 


1871] What Little Children Read. 12 £ 

The Ape agreed, ate the mo-chi, and went 
home with the Crab, who sat on the veranda 
with his pipe, while the Ape climbed the tree. 
But instead of handing them down to the 
Crab, he pelted the Crab with them, until he 
succeeded in killing him. 

But the Egg, a friend of the Crab, suddenly 
appeared, and the Ape ran away. Then the 
Egg went and consulted with his friends, the 
Rice-Mortar and the Bee. The three friends 
invited the Ape to a feast, and gave him a seat 
upon what appeared a box, but in reality it was 
an “infernal machine,” which they had secret¬ 
ly prepared. This blew up; and while lying 
prostrate on the ground, he was thrust through 
with spears and quickly despatched. In this 
ludicrous way the moral is given that those 
who treat others unjustly shall be themselves 
served in like manner. 

The Rat's Wedding .—A young-lady Rat was 
out walking one morning, followed by her ser¬ 
vant. She met a young Mr. Rat, who was 
much pleased with her. He went to a friend 
to ask him to act as a go-between and con¬ 
sult with the young lady’s father. The friend 
sat on the floor with his pipe, and the hi- 
ba-chi was beside him ; and his wife listened 
with interest to all that was said. The go- 
between then went to the father, who received 


11 


122 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

him graciously, and preparations were made 
for the wedding. The happy day came, the 
guests assembled at the house of the bride’s 
father in two large parlors, the Rat-men in one 
room and the Rat-women in the other. The 
go-between, the bride and groom, with two 
maids, retired into a separate apartment. 

In Japanese houses the place of honor is a 
dais, or raised platform, at one end of the 
room. The bride, arrayed in white, sat before 
this platform ; opposite her sat the bridegroom, 
and the go-between sat between, a little way 
off; the maids sat opposite the go-between, 
the parties occupying the four angles of a 
square. 

A little table with three lacquered cups was 
placed in the centre of the square. The cups 
were of different sizes, the smallest one being 
on top. The maid nearest the bride had the 
pot of saki, which she took, poured a portion 
into the little cup, and gave it to the bride, who 
drank and then handed it to the bridegroom, 
who also drank. The cup was then handed 
back and put away under the table, when the 
second cup was likewise filled, and bride, bride¬ 
groom and go-between partook, and the same 
process was gone through with the third and 
largest cup, and the ceremony was ended. 

The design of this book is evidently to 


1871 j What Little Children Read. 123 

illustrate to children the simple form of mar¬ 
riage adopted and in use. 

Mo-mo-ta-ro .—An old woman found on the 
bank of a river a large beautiful peach. She 
took it home to her husband; and while they 
were admiring it, it burst open, disclosing a 
baby. Greatly surprised, to the childless old 
couple its appearance was yet one of great 
joy. They put the child in water, and he up¬ 
set the tub. Mo-mo is the Japanese word for 
peach, and they named the child Mo-mo-ta-ro, 
or “ Peach-boy.” 

As he grew older he became very strong. 
One day he begged a cake from his adopted 
parents, and they hastened to give it to him. 
Then he started off to fight the devils in a 
distant island and take their treasures. On 
the way an ape, a dog and a beautiful white 
bird met him, and begged the cake. He gave 
it to them, and they became his followers. They 
went with him to the island, where they fought 
the devils, and Mo-mo gained the treasures and 
then returned home. The moral is obvious: 
Generosity meets with its reward. 

Kintaro .—A great many tales are told of 
Kintaro, a child born in the mountains, whose 
friends were rabbits, apes and birds, who sub¬ 
dued terrible dragons and monsters, and at last 
became a daimio. He is represented in the 


124 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

pictures as being very red. In the autumn, at 
the great display of chrysanthemums, among 
other human figures we easily recognize the 
ruddy Kintaro. 

The Tail-cut Swallow .—Once upon a time an 
old woman made some paste. A pet swallow 
got out of the cage and ate the paste. The 
old woman was very' angry, cut the bird’s tail, 
and sent it away. The old man, her husband, 
O Ji san, was sorry when he heard of this, and 
went out to make inquiries about the tailless 
bird. On the way he met Mrs. and Miss Swal¬ 
low, and after making his kind inquiries was 
invited to their house. He went, and Mrs. S. 
made a feast, at which there were music and 
dancing. 

She then showed him two boxes, and asked 
if he would take home with him the light or 
the heavy one. He said, as he was old, he 
would take the lio-hter one. So he went off 
with the box on his back, and was accompanied 
a part of the way by Mrs. Swallow, as is the 
usual courtesy shown to an honored guest. 

When O Ji san reached home he opened 
the box, and treasures fell out, at the sight of 
which he started back astonished, while the old 
woman looked on amazed. She, hearing of the 
other box, hastened to call upon Mrs. Swallow, 
and begged her to give it to her. She readily 


1871] What Little Children Read . 125 

gave it, but when it was opened out flew ba-ke- 
mo-no (ghosts), which frightened her dreadfully. 

The pictures of this little book would tell 
the story to one of us without the interpreter’s 
aid. You can read it readily and learn the 
moral—that cruelty and avarice will surely be 
overtaken with dreadful vengeance, while a 
tender heart and modest unselfishness are to 
be approved. 

Story of Sho-set-su .—In the province of Shin- 
shiu lived a man named Sho-set-su. He was 
once walking upon the seashore, when an old 
man, riding upon a large fish, appeared, from 
whom he learned many of the things of the 
spirit-world such as are not usual for men to 
know. In a mountain he learned the art of 
fencing; and coming across a man one day, he 
made such dextrous use of his sword as soon 
to kill him. While sitting alone after this, a 
frightful ba-ke-mo-no appeared: it was the 
spirit of the murdered man. But he was not 
frightened, and ever after he was distinguished 
for his great courage, fearing nothing in this or 
the other world. 

The Treasure .—O Ji san petted his dog, and 
the dog was very grateful, and told the old 
master to go and dig under a certain tree, 
where he would find treasure. He did so, and 

found ko-ban (gold coins). But while both he 
11 * 


126 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

and the dog looked on this new-found treasure 
with happy look, an old woman living in the 
neighborhood stealthily came up, and saw it 
with covetous desires. She told her husband 
about it, and they borrowed the dog, to have 
him point out to them where another treasure 
was hid. He did so; but instead of digging up 
ko-ban, most offensive things came out of the 
earth. The old man was so angry that he 
killed the dog and buried the body under a 
tree. That night the good O Ji san was visited 
in a dream by the spirit of the dog, which told 
him to make a mortar for mo-chi out of the 
wood of the tree under which the dog was 
buried. He did so, and every time he pounded 
the rice ko-ban came out in profusion. The 
wicked old man, hearing this, went and bor¬ 
rowed the mortar; but when he pounded rice, 
the same horrible offensive things came out, 
which vexed him so much that he burned the 
mortar. 

The good O Ji san gathered the ashes of the 
mortar in a vessel, with which he climbed a 
tree under which daimios were sitting, and 
scattering some of the ashes over the branches, 
they all burst into the most beautiful bloom, at 
which the daimios were astonished. But the 
wicked old man, trying to do the same, only 
succeeded in throwing the ashes into a daimio’s 


1871] What Little Children Read. 127 

eyes, who was so irritated that he ordered a 
servant to give him a terrible beating. 

The moral: With the good all things are 
good and beautiful; while with the bad all 
things are offensive, and in the end turn out 
badly. 

Such are some of the best of the stories 
which O I-ne san and Sen-ki-chi read. Most 
of the children’s story-books are filled with tales 
of ghosts and hobgoblins and embellished with 
most frightful pictures, so that their imagina¬ 
tions are constantly tortured with the horrible 
visions thus called up. 

Dear little Christian children, with your sweet, 
pure stories, told in such beautiful language, 
and with enough to meet every need of your 
souls, remember these little ones in Japan, and 
be thankful for your own happier lot. Their 
minds are starved and stunted in their growth, 
while yours are fed with nourishing, strengthen¬ 
ing food. 



CHAPTER XI. 


A JOURNEY FROM TOKIO TO O-DA-WA-RA. 

A Letter—Political Divisions—Postmen—Setting Out 
on a Journey—The To-kai-do—Tea-Houses—Ka-gos— 
No-ri-mo-no—The Road to Fu-ji-sa-wa—The Hotel— A 
Day’s Journey—Night at O-da-wa-ra. 

HE postman called, “ O' ta-no-mo-shi-ma- 



X su !" O Cho ran and got a letter, which 
she carried on a waiter to O Tot san. It was 
written on much coarser paper than the one 
which O Ka san sent to O-ji. The address 
was in large characters, and the outside bore 
the writer’s name, his town and the date. 
There were no postmarks except the govern¬ 
ment’s stamps. The words too differed from 
those of O Ka san’s letter, for men and women 
use different forms of expression in their let¬ 
ters. The divisions of Japan correspond to 
our States and counties, so that letters are 
directed to such a town in such a ken of such 
a province. The ken answers to our county. 
The large cities are called mi-a-ko or o-ma-chi; 
towns are ma-chi , and the mu-ra is a village or 
hamlet. 


128 


1871] A Journey to O-da-wa-ra. 129 

Postmen travel continually between the cit¬ 
ies, carrying letters in a bag, which is tied on 
the end of a pole. With this on his shoulder, 
the postman goes at running speed. He is 
clad in tight clothing, as the robes generally 
used would be in the way of a runner. There 
being constant relays, letters are carried rapidly 
through the empire. 

This letter was from a friend in the province 
of Su-ru-ga, which is on the other side of the 
Ha-ko-ne Mountains. The friend wished O Tot 
san to meet him at Ha-ko-ne in the sixth month 
(July). There is always a great deal of talking 
to be done before anything can be decided in 
Japan. So a family council was called, and 
even O Cho and O Kin were invited to give 
their opinion. At last the decision was made: 
the whole family would go. 

An answer was sent to the friend in Su-ru- 
ga, telling him what time to expect them. Then 
preparations were made for the journey. Gon- 
ji-ro, the old man whom we saw drawing water 
from the well, was delighted to have the privi¬ 
lege of carrying the baggage. This was not 
heavy, for the clothing was all packed in two 
paper boxes, each one about three feet long, 
one and a half wide and two in depth. These 
were carried suspended at the ends of a pole 
on his shoulders. 


1 


130 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

The whole party started from the house on 
foot. O Ka san and O I-ne san had each a 
blue-and-white cotton kerchief tied over her 
head. Their dresses were partly fastened up 
in their belts. They had each a blue towel in 
one sleeve, and their purses hung down from 
their belts. Each of the travelers carried a 
staff, an umbrella and a fan; and Gon-ji-ro 
followed them w r ith the bagfgfacre. O Cho and 
O Kin accompanied them a short distance, 
then said their good-byes with many a bow 
and went back to the house. 

So our little O I-ne san became a traveler, 
and trudged on by O Ka san’s side under the 
shade of an umbrella. She did so with gay 
anticipations. They went down the To-ri to 
Shi-na-ga-wa, one of the suburban towns of 
Tokio. 

They were walking, but could often stop to 
rest at the tea-houses on each side of the To- 
kai-do (the prolongation of the To-ri), as their 
journey lay altogether along this road. As 
traveling is done almost entirely on foot, these 
tea-houses are indispensable for rest and re- j 
freshment. They are little open houses where 
a cup of tea, sweetmeats and a melon may be 
had, and also the pipe can be lighted at the 
hi-ba-chi. We find them often built over the 
water, on the mountain-sides, by the waterfalls 


1871] A Journey to O-da-wa-ra. 131 

—wherever the view is pretty or wild or grand; 
showing that the Japanese appreciate the beau¬ 
tiful in nature. 

Once during the day our travelers came to 
a long avenue of beautiful trees, where they 
saw one sad thing. This was a man confined 
in a box on wheels, in which he was carried 
around from place to place to be exhibited as 
a criminal: this was his punishment. Some¬ 
times travelers in Japan see the heads of crim¬ 
inals stuck on poles by the highways. 

On they walked all day, stopping to rest at 
the tea-houses, and at noon having dinner at a 
large hotel, until late in the afternoon, when 
they reached Ka-na-ga-wa. Looking across 
the water from here, they could see the foreign 
buildings along the Bund at Yokohama, on the 
other side of the bay. 

O Tot san now got a ka-go (sedan-chair), 
and O Ka san and her little girl jumped in and 
were carried the rest of the day. There are 
two kinds of these chairs—the ka-go and the 
no-ri-mo-no. The first is open, with a little 
roof on top, while the latter can be entirely 
closed. Both are borne by means of a pole 
fastened along the length of the roof, and 
carried on the shoulders of two men. These 
men wear pads to prevent their shoulders being 
rubbed ; but notwithstanding this, they often be- 


132 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

come sore and bleeding. The large no-ri-mo- 
nos of the gods and nobles require two poles, 
carried by four men. The motion is easy, al¬ 
though the cramped position in sitting would 
be uncomfortable to us. 

As the little company—O Ka san and O I-ne 
san in the ka-go, O Tot san walking by their 
side, and Gon-ji-ro trudging along with his 
boxes—went along the great highway between 
Ka-na-ga-wa and Fu-ji-sa-wa, the women in the 
tea-houses called out, “ Come and rest!” “ Come 
and rest!” The people at work in the rice- 
fields looked up to see who was going by. 
Occasionally trains of packhorses passed along, 
or a solitary pedestrian, or laborers, in groups 
of twos and threes, returning from their work. 

They had many little hills to climb, but the 
ka-go-men trotted easily over them, stopping 
every few minutes to change the pole from one 
shoulder to the other. The daylight was almost 
gone when they reached the large town of Fu- 
ji-sa-wa, having traveled about twenty-five 
miles. In the gathering darkness they went 
down the main street and found a hotel. The 
landlord came out to meet them, and O Tot 
san and the landlord bowed low. “ Have you 
room?” said O Tot san.—“Yes” (using the 
most polite form of expression), answered the 
landlord. “How far have you come to-day?” 


1871] A Journey to O-da-wa-ra. 133 

was the next question.—“ Thanks ! From To- 
kio.” Then O Ka san and O I-ne san got out 
of the ka-go, and all were escorted to the best 
room, in the back of the building. The hotel 
is simply a large dwelling-house, the entrance 
often appearing very uninviting, as the kitchen 
is in front and numbers of coolies gather there; 
but we pass on, at first in disgust, to find large, 
airy apartments, and often beautiful gardens, in 
the rear. It is a noisy place, from the coming 
and going of guests at all hours of the night, 
the loud talking of coolies, the clapping of 
hands to call the servants, who all respond 
with a loud “ Hai /” the frequent opening and 
shutting of the slides, and the constant splash¬ 
ing of the water in the bath-room, which occu¬ 
pies the most conspicuous position in the centre 
of the house. After the guests have gone 
through with their ablutions, the servants are 
all accustomed to do the same. 

O I-ne san was tired, and felt a little home¬ 
sick as she thought of O Cho and O Kin, but 
she ate her supper, and was soon asleep on the 
hotel futon. 

At Fu-ji-sa-wa is a famous temple, to which 
they all went up to worship before starting on 
their journey the next morning. After the 
devotions were concluded, while a priest talked 

pleasantly with O Tot san and O Ka san about 
12 


134 


The Sunrise Kingdom. [ l8 7* 

the journey, 0 I-ne san watched a group of 
pilgrims from Fu-ji, who came into the temple- 
enclosure. She thought they must be very 
good, because they had made this pilgrimage, 
and had worshiped on Fu-ji’s top. She liked 
to see them in their white dresses, and listened 
with pleasure to their jingling bells. They 
washed their hands in the stone basin, and 
then went up to the temple. 

In the summer, for two months, Fu-ji is 
“ open,” and pilgrims from all parts of the 
country flock thither, to worship at the top. 
Fu-ji is covered with snow more or less through¬ 
out the whole year, and its summit is only ac¬ 
cessible during the months of July and August. 
Hence the natives then say that it is “ open,” 
the bars of the gateway being taken down. 
Pilgrims also visit the mountains of O-i and 
Nik-ko and the island E-no-shi-ma, and other 
sacred shrines, quite numerous in Japan, so 
that when we travel in the summer we are 
meeting them on every road. Most of them 
are men from the lowest classes of society. 
Their songs and jests are of the coarsest cha¬ 
racter; but among them may be found men 
and women of rather superior intelligence, who 
are sincere in their pious purposes, and go to 
seek relief from a burdened conscience. 

O Tot san said that they must reach O-da- 


1871] A Journey to O-da-wa-ra. 135 

wa-ra by night—a distance of thirty miles. So 
the coolies lifted the ka-go, Gon-ji-ro shouldered 
his burden, and on they went again. The way 
for a time led through a beautiful country, and 
the travelers had glimpses of lovely valleys, 
with hills stretching far into the distance. The 
fields were green and fair; the flowers bloomed 
along the roadside. They saw groves of the 
bamboo, with its bright foliage, and the dark 
rich green of the pines, and the still different 
tints of the maples. The variety of shades of 
green in a Japanese landscape is very notice¬ 
able. Our little girl also saw the ferns and 
ivy that grew on the hillside, and the beautiful 
rice-paddies, and the picturesque thatched farm¬ 
houses. Not so pleasant to look upon were 
the beggars, who crouched by the roadside 
asking alms, and to whom O I-ne san threw 
cash as they passed. 

The sun grew warm and the road was sandy 
and hilly—a weary, toilsome way for our pedes¬ 
trians. At noon they came to the Ban-yu-ga- 
wa, one of the broad, quiet rivers of Japan. 
Toiling through the sand to the river’s brink 
was hard work for that warm summer day, but 
by the water the breeze was pleasant and re¬ 
freshing. O I-ne san dipped her bare little feet 
in the stream to cool them while waiting for the 
ferry-boat. She watched two boats coming 


136 The Sunrise Kingdom . [1871 

from the other side; the boatmen were poling 
them across, as the water was quite shallow. In 
one was a packhorse with a load upon his back; 
in the other was a woman with her head tied 
up to protect it from the sun ; also a man with 
a pipe in his mouth and wearing a large scoop 
hat of straw that answered the purposes of an 
umbrella in sunshine or in rain. Close by this 
man, in the same boat, were two men with bur¬ 
dens on their backs and wearing comical straw 
hats like bushel-baskets inverted, and wholly 
hiding the face. The Japanese are remark¬ 
able in the care they take to protect themselves 
from the rays of the sun or the effects of heavy 
showers. Their headgear and high wooden 
shoes are far from being neat or hand¬ 
some, but are exceedingly useful in times of 
rain and mud, or when the sun pours down 
his heating rays. 

Besides these objects, O I-ne san saw the 
fields and houses on the other side of the river, 
and looked up at the mountains of O-i, lying 
like a bank of clouds, soft and dark, against 
the western sky. Their own ferry-boat now 
came, and they were quickly poled across. 
They climbed up a steep bank and reached a 
little town, where they took dinner. The after¬ 
noon journey was warm, but occasionally a 
breeze from the sea relieved the sultriness. 


1871] A Journey to O-da-wa-ra. 137 

Sometimes high hills were in sight, and fre¬ 
quently little paths leading into pleasant mead¬ 
ows tempted them to leave the dusty highway. 

Through the open slides of the houses they 
could see the inmates, most of them stretched 
on the floor asleep. Occasionally they saw a 
woman spinning or a man sitting up and 
amusing a baby. There seem to be many idle 
people in Japan, and apparently much of this 
idleness is fostered by their mode of sitting on 
the floor and on the ta-ta-niis , or soft straw 
mats. 

Late in the afternoon the travelers had grand 
views of the ocean. Once they saw a surf- 
beach, where some boys were fishing, and in 
the distance a great promontory stretching far 
out into the sea. They heard the thunder of 
the waves as they broke against the shore. 
Just before reaching O-da-wa-ra they crossed 
another river by a long bridge built on trestle- 
work. Formerly the current of this river was 
so rapid that no bridge could be constructed of 
sufficient strength to withstand the rush of 
water. From what cause we cannot say, but 
the rivers of Japan are losing their volume, and 
now wastes of sand and rock are seen where 
once broad, deep waters flowed. We have a 
picture showing how passengers were taken 

across when the river was so rapid. They are 

12* 


138 The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1871 


seated each on a platform nailed across two 
poles, the ends of which rest upon the shoul¬ 
ders of four stout coolies, who wade or swim 
as necessity may demand. 

O-da-wa-ra, where the night was spent, is a 
large town at the foot of the Ha-ko-ne Moun¬ 
tains. It is a great place of rendezvous for 
all the ka-go-men, packhorse-drivers, pilgrims 
and traders. The high mountains shut off the 
western breeze from the city, and the sea-breeze 
from the east died away, making the night ex¬ 
cessively warm, while the coolies in the street 
kept up an incessant talking, and the drivers 
ceased not their cries, giving our weary trav¬ 
elers but little opportunity to gain the refresh¬ 
ment of much-needed sleep. They were glad, 
when the morning came, to renew their journey 
and set their faces toward the mountains. 



CHAPTER XII. 


ON THE HA-KO-NES. 


Sai-o-na-ra—Mountain-scene— Ha-ta-ji-ku—Up to Ha-ko- 
ne—The Lake—The Temple—Ji-go-ku—A-shi-no-yu— 
Mi-ya-no-shi-ta—Yu-mo-to. 

HE ka-gos were brought to the hotel-en- 



_L trance. O Ka san and O I-ne san crept 
into theirs, and O Tot san also had one for this 
day’s journey. The landlord and his wife, with 
all the servants, assembled to say “ Good-bye ” 
to the travelers and wish them a pleasant 
journey. 

“ 0 Ki-no-do-kit sa-ma ,” said the landlord. 
(“Your stay has been poison to your soul.”) 
—“ O Ya-ki-ma-shi-ku'' said O Tot san. (“We 
have been very noisy.”)—“ O ki ni ar-i-ga-tod 
said O Ka san to the landlady. (“A great 
thank you.”)—“ Do-i-ta-shi mas-ta ka," answered 
the landlady and the servants. (“ What have 
we done?”) Then the low bows were made, 
the Sai-o-na-ras (“ Good-byes ”) said, the ka- 
gos lifted on the strong shoulders of the men, 
and the journey up to Ha-ko-ne was begun. 


139 


140 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

From O-da-wa-ra the ascent begins. In 
some places the road was densely shaded, but 
through many openings they had grand views 
of the surrounding mountains and looked down 
into deep valleys. They passed many little 
shops, where tiny cups and boxes, very neat¬ 
ly and beautifully made of the mountain-wood, 
were temptingly arranged. The shop-people 
begged the travelers to buy as they passed. 
That day’s journey was not very long. About 
noon our travelers reached Ha-ta-ji-ku, a little 
village on the mountain, and concluded to re- 
main there all night. Ha-ta 710 mi-yo-ji sama 
is the name of the old hotel at which they 
stopped. 

The traveler in Japan is constantly surprised 
at finding in the smallest hamlet large, pleas¬ 
ant hotels. These were built originally for the 
accommodation of the daimios as they traveled 
through the country with their retainers. The 
emperor once took dinner at this very hotel on 
his way to his summer-resort in the mountains. 
O Iva san examined the dark carved wood of 
the building, while O I-ne san was delighted 
with the pretty garden made on the hillside, 
with the three waterfalls. The water came 
down from the mountain, which towered above 
them, gushed out of some rocks, and fell to 
the second terrace, then made its way quiet- 


1871] On the Ha-ko-nes. 141 

ly through the grass, had another tumble, then 
was again almost lost to sight, until it made a 
third leap, into a fish-pond over which was a 
tiny arched bridge. The gold and silver fish in 
the pond were very large. Some were from 
twelve to fifteen inches in length. A woman 
threw in some food—a wafer-like substance 
prepared expressly for gold fish; and while 
the fish came out from under a rock to get it 
she talked to O I-ne san about them, and told 
her they had been there for a hundred years. 

In one corner of the garden was a shrine 
for I-na-ri sa-ma (rice-god), and azaleas grew on 
the hillside. The evening at Ha-ta was lovely. 
O Tot san and O Ka san walked through the 
village at night by the light of the new moon 
and a single lantern. It was all quiet—nothing 
to be heard except the sound of the wind 
among the cedar trees and the hum of in¬ 
sects, until bedtime, when the women clapped 
their hands over the fish-pond—“ to send the 
fish to rest,” they said. 

O I-ne san was sorry to leave the waterfalls 
and the fish and the kind people of the hotel 
when the ka-gos were brought the next morn- 
ing, but it was time to continue the ascent of 
the mountain. The road was very steep and 
rocky. No horse can travel over it without 
great difficulty. The ka-go men said that even 


142 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1871 


they could not walk were the boulders with 
which the road was paved taken away. 

Tall cedar trees shaded the travelers, and 
the sound of falling water, which they never 
saw, constantly excited their curiosity. The 
ka-go men went up, up, up, carrying the party 
into the mists of the mountain and into the 
pleasant October-like weather, singing as they 
went. Their song was weird and strange, but 
not at all unmusical. There were six men to 
the three ka-gos. They had a ka-go for the 
baggage this morning, so that old Gon-ji-ro 
was relieved of his burden; and when they 
stopped to change the poles, one would begin 
a song and the others take up the chorus. 
Then another solo was begun, and at the 
second chorus all would march off again. 
The minor strains sounded very sweetly in 
the mountain. When will it re-echo to the 
music of Christian hymns ? 

On they went, almost into the cloud-land, 
meeting pilgrims and country-people, and occa¬ 
sionally a packhorse led carefully down. Just 
before reaching Ha-ko-ne they had a charming 
view of the lake. Two little promontories jut¬ 
ted out into it, and between them was Fu-ji, 
looking even grander and higher than he does 
in Tokio. Then they went down an avenue of 
cedar trees into the village, and there, waiting 


1871] On the Ha-ko-nes. 143 

for them at one of the hotels, were the friends 
from Su-ru-ga, and the bows were many and 
low and the rejoicings great. 

Ha-ko-ne is a town of hotels—the Saratoga 
of Japan. Its chief attraction is a lovely lake, 
which lies between two and three thousand feet 
above the level of the sea, and is supposed by 
some to be the crater of an extinct volcano. 
It is surrounded by mountain-peaks, and its 
clear water reflects each peak and cloud. At 
one end is a tunnel, two and a half miles long, 
made for purposes of irrigation. This is a 
great work, but who did it and when it was 
done no one knows. 

The little company of friends much enjoyed 
their excursions on the lake and trips from 
Ha-ko-ne to the neighboring villages. One 
day they went in a sail-boat to the other end of 
the lake, and visited an old temple. They had 
to climb one hundred and five steps to get to it. 
The entrance was very grand, with rows of tall 
cedars and lanterns on each side, but the tem¬ 
ple was old and dilapidated. A Buddhist tem¬ 
ple is much like the religion itself at the pres¬ 
ent day. The entrance is so imposing that 
you wonder what the temple itself may be, 
and enter the gateway to find nothing but 
an old building tumbling into decay. 

The most wonderful place about Ha-ko-ne 


144 77 z £ Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

is what the people call Ji-go-ku , their name for 
the infernal region. To reach this our travel¬ 
ers took a sail-boat and went to the extreme 
end of the lake, where they moored the boat, 
and all got out and climbed the mountain. The 
ascent was very steep and difficult, but O I-ne 
san toiled along bravely by her mother’s side. 
The guide led the way along a deeply-shaded 
road to the springs. Clear water, boiling hot, 
bubbled up out of the ground, and crowds of 
miserable people were bathing in the water, 
some covered with sores and almost naked. 
Men, women and children throng to these 
springs in the summer to obtain, if possible, 
relief from their diseases. 

Our friends did not stop here long, but went 
still higher up. From some points on the road 
they had grand views of Fu-ji (the “matchless 
mountain”), rising high above the clouds. As 
they toiled upward the way became barren and 
desolate, and the fumes of the sulphur almost in¬ 
tolerable. At one place they dared not step to 
the right or left of a narrow foot-path, as the 
ground on either side was full of deep holes. 
The water which issued from the ground was 
boiling hot. 

At two little huts by the way men were pre¬ 
paring the sulphur for use, and at a little distance 
from these places of shelter arose dense vol- 


1871] On the Ha-ko-nes. 145 

times of smoke. Onward still the guides led 
to where boiling sulphur hissed, and where 
clouds of steam prevented them from seeing 
anything distinctly. “ Keep away from the 
edge of the chasm,” called the guide to one of 
the party who ventured too near. “ The earth 
will give way.” Ji-go-ku was a fearful place, 
and O I-ne san was glad to get away. 

Near Ha-ko-ne is Ashi-no-yu. The “Twin 
Mountains,” two peaks just alike, are distinctly 
seen from here. Down the mountain from 
Ashi-no-yu is Mi-ya-no-shi-ta, the emperor’s 
summer resting-place. From Mi-ya-no-shi-ta 
to Yu-mo-to the scenery is most romantic and 
interesting. High mountains shut in the nar¬ 
row path, and a river rushes and foams over 
great rocks. These mountains are noted for 
their springs. Water, hot and cold, gushes 
out of the rocks in every direction. The ho¬ 
tels are crowded with invalids in the summer. 

Oh how we long for the time to come when 
the missionary can go and preach to these suf¬ 
fering souls, to tell them of the “living water” 
which can quench their thirst and give them 
everlasting life! 

13 K 


CHAPTER XIII. 


PILGRIMS ON FU-JI. 


Pilgrims come to Ha-ko-ne—Descent of the Mountain 
—Mi-shi-ma—Yo-shi-wa-ra — The Base of Fu-ji—The 
Cinder Cone—The Huts—Going up to the Crater— 
The Storm. 


MOTLEY crowd had assembled at the 



entrance of the hotel when our travelers 


left Ha-ko-ne to return to Tokio. Ka-go men, 
pilgrims, travelers, drivers with their packhorses, 
—all were congregated there. Those bound for 
Tokio went down the mountain on its eastern 
slope, while the pilgrims turned their faces west¬ 
ward toward Fu-ji. Let us follow them. 

They went up the one steep street of Ha- 
ko-ne, out of the gate through which the old 
daimios passed, and just outside of which 
some old idols stood, as if keeping guard in 
the place of sentinels. 

Under grand old trees, between mossy banks 
from which hung tangled masses of vines and 
ivy, and where ferns grew in rank profusion and 
fair white lilies bloomed, went the pilgrims, 
stepping from rock to rock and stopping to 


146 


PILGRIMS. Pa £ e G7- 
































































































































































1871] Pilgrims on Fu-ji. 147 

quench their thirst at some cooling spring. At 
noon they halted for dinner at Mi-shi-ma, a 
large town at the foot of the western side of 
Ha-ko-ne. 

Just opposite the hotel was a large temple, 
and back of the temple a beautiful grove. 
Pretty winding walks under the shady trees, 
with thatched cottages and people walking to 
and fro, made the place very charming. But 
the most attractive object at Mi-shi-ma was the 
stream which the pilgrims passed as they went 
out of town. Down from the mountain it came, 
pure and fresh, and in such volume that it was 
sufficient to quench the thirst of all the people 
of Mi-shi-ma through all time. Truly, Japan is 
a well-watered country—“ a land of brooks of 
water, of fountains and depths, that spring out 
of valleys and hills;” and these bright waters 
flow over a green, sunny land. It is strange 
how earth’s most lovely regions are the ones 
most defiled by sin. Even Sodom and Gomor¬ 
rah stood in that plain of Jordan which was 
like “ the garden of the Lord.” 

At Yo-shi-wa-ra, a large town near the base 
of Fu-ji, the pilgrims passed the night. Every¬ 
where they performed their devotions, going 
for this purpose into all the large temples. 
And now they came to the mountain. 

Fu-ji (Fuji-yama) is an extinct volcano, which 


148 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1871 


stands by itself in the centre of a large plain. 
It rises (taking the average of several estimates) 
thirteen thousand feet above the level of the 
sea, being the highest point of elevation in 
Japan. Perpetual snow lies upon the summit. 
Its cone is made of cinders, and is one of the 
most symmetrical in the world. It is the steep¬ 
est of all volcanoes, the angle being forty-five 
degrees. Its ashes cause at a distance the 
peculiar purple hue which distinguishes the 
mountain. A hundred years have elapsed 
since the last eruption. 

As the pilgrims started on their journey in 
the early morning their way lay for a time over 
a plain whereon beautiful flowers grew. Begin¬ 
ning the ascent, they passed through a grove 
of cedars, then through fields of flowers, where 
the vegetation was rank, and then reached hut 
No. 1. 

At nearly regular intervals on the mountain 

are these places of refuge for the pilgrims. 

Thev are built far into the side of the moun- 
* 

tain, boarded inside, with immense blocks of 
scorice on top to hold down the little of the 
hut which projects outside. One would scarcely 
imagine them to be huts from seeing the outside 
only, but within they are quite spacious. There 
are eight or nine of these huts, numbered re¬ 
spectively No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, etc., and without 


1871] Pilgrims on Fu-ji. 149 

their shelter travel on the mountain would be 
almost impossible. 

No. 1 looked very pleasant that summer 
morning as the pilgrims stopped to rest. It 
bore quite a resemblance to a regular house, 
and in this respect was superior to the other 
huts, farther up. Near this place was an old 
hermit, living all alone in a little hut. 

Then they went on until they reached No. 2, 
a wild, desolate spot. Below were the clouds, 
and only through the rifts could the pilgrims 
catch glimpses of hills and valleys far beneath 
them. Above was the top, like a great ash-pile, 
black and barren. An old woman had charge 
of No. 2. She had a fire of wood built on the 
floor; there was no chimney, and smoke filled 
the room. Guides, ka-gomen and pilgrims made 
up the company within. Here the pilgrims ate 
their midday meal. Water, very cold, came 
down from the summit; it was the melting 
snow. Everywhere the pilgrims found rice 
and dai-kon, but not much else. 

Then began the real ascent of the cinder- 
cone. It all looked black and desolate. Vege¬ 
tation suddenly ceased, with the exception of a 
few patches of a sickly green shrub, and the 
feet of the pilgrims sank deep into the ashes 
at every step. The way was strewn with cast¬ 
off sandals—the waraji, a very cheap style of 
13 * 


150 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

shoe worn by coolies. They wear out quickly 
on Fu-ji. Ka-gos can be carried no farther 
than the third resting-place. 

After reaching No. 6 the way up to the crater 
became yet more steep and difficult, and the 
scenery of the mountain the very extreme of 
desolateness. On went the pilgrims, toiling 
slowly upward, purposing to sleep at the cra¬ 
ter. Large stones impeded their progress, and 
their feet sank deeper and deeper into the 
cinders. The air became so rarefied that it 
failed to satisfy their lungs, and breathing 
became difficult. Patches of snow lay along 
their way. It was a blessing indeed that the 
running water was so cold and plentiful, for 
the ashes, flying up at every step, made the 
throats of the pilgrims very dry, so that they 
constantly wanted to drink. 

At last they stood on the summit. A priest 
sat by the side of a deep well, constructed no 
one knows how long ago, and a most remark¬ 
able feature in such a scene—a well of water 
at the very crater’s mouth. He pulled the 
buckets up and down by a rope on a windlass, 
and as the cold, sparkling water came, he gave 
it to the weary, thirsty pilgrims. How interest¬ 
ing and deeply suggestive this incident, though 
happening in a heathen land and in a false 
pagan worship ! There is the counterfeit, and 


1871] Pilgrims on Fn-ji. 151 

there is the true. Can we doubt where the 
true well is, and the real water of life ? 

The pilgrims, refreshed, went on to worship 
at the crater. Around the deep, yawning pit 
were the idols of wood and stone, similar to 
those in their temples and homes. All was 
quiet—no smoke or smell of sulphur, or any¬ 
thing else but the crater itself and its cold black 
ash-piles, to indicate the presence of a volcano. 
It was by no means so fearful a place as Ji-go- 
ku, with its boiling, hissing sulphur. Near the 
crater was quite a village, in which were men 
and boys, but no women. This is their home 
for the two months of summer when the pil¬ 
grims come, to whose wants they minister. 

The air was sharp and cold. All night the 
tinkling of the pilgrims’ bells was heard as 
other parties made their way up the mountain. 
The morning sun rose upon a scene of won¬ 
drous beauty to the pilgrims. Far, far below 
them rolled a sea of clouds; and when the 
sun emerged, it was like a perfect sea of 
glory, which turned into deep crimson and 
gold as the sun shone over it. 

The pilgrims started early down the moun¬ 
tain. It is necessary only to worship at the 
crater and spend one night on the mountain. 
As they descended the glory of the early morn¬ 
ing faded away, and a terrible storm of rain 


152 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1871 

and wind overtook them. The mist entirely 
concealed the path from view. Often they fell 
down in the ashes, but the bed was soft, and no 
one was hurt. Occasionally the scene bright¬ 
ened for a moment, and the clouds parted. 
But the wind again swept down from the moun¬ 
tain, driving before it a dense fog, and every¬ 
thing became obscured. The pilgrims were 
drenched to the skin ; they stopped at each hut 
to rest and get a cup of tea, and then went out 
again into the wild storm, and in this way they 
reached the foot of the mountain. But the 
prayers had been said, their worship paid at 
Fu-ji’s top, and they were satisfied. 

“ Why do the pilgrims ascend Fu-ji?” This 
question was asked of a Christian Japanese. 
“They wish to be holy,” was the reply. “As 
long as they are on the mountain their conduct 
is good, but when they come down they drink 
saki, gamble and cheat, and do many wicked 
things. But the Christian religion is like be¬ 
ing always on the mount. People need never 
come down. They can always be holy.” 


BOOK II. 


CHAPTER I. 


AN OPEN DOOR. 


“ And I said, What shall I do, Lord ? 

“ A great door and effectual is open unto me, and there are many 
adversaries. ” 

FTER the dispersion of the scholars in 



1 \ the winter of 1870-71 we waited patient¬ 
ly for brighter days to come, and waited not in 
vain, for this year (1872) we seem to breathe 
a new atmosphere of religious freedom. In 
March some converts were baptized, a native 
church was organized in Yokohama, and in one 
of the mission-houses On-ga-wa conducts daily 
family worship. Even in the capital Bibles are 
sold and Bible classes taught without interfer- 
ence from the ya-cu-nins. 

The Tokio of to-day is very different from 
the city to which we came nearly three years 
ago. Few two-sworded men are now seen in 
the streets, and we go among the people with 
much freedom. The foreign population has 


153 



J 54 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1872 


greatly increased, and the house at Ro-ku-ban 
is no longer the only foreign building in this 
part of the Concession. Soon a railroad will 
connect Tokio with Yokohama, and a church 
for foreigners will be erected. It seems as 
though the mere sight of a Christian church 
here will have its effect on the Japanese. And 
yet even this spring we heard rumors of rebel¬ 
lion and of the possible expulsion of foreigners 
from Japan, and stories of a general massacre, 
to take place some time in April, reached our 
ears, but the bright spring days passed away, 
bringing no signs of intended violence. 

And now the tiling for which we have longed 

o o 

and prayed these many months has been grant¬ 
ed. A door of access to the women of Japan 
has been opened, and, strange to say, in the 
providence of God, by the Japanese themselves. 
So has it been in all our intercourse with this 
people. They have always come to us to beg 
instruction. We know not to what the path 
in *which we have begun to tread may lead. 
One thing we do know: it is the only way open 
now, and there is no question as to duty. The 
desire to study English has been aroused in 
the hearts of some of the girls, or in the hearts 
of their parents for them, and in this way they 
have been brought under Christian influence. 
It seems but a little thing, the daily teaching 


i55 


1872] An Open Door. 

of English to a few girls, but the results none 
can foretell. 

Early in March, while the weather was still 
cold, Hama Konda, the first pupil, came to Ro- 
ku-ban. She was not very young, and was 
plain in her personal appearance, but wore 
dark, rich clothing. Her regular lesson-book 
was a First Reader , but after that had been 
learned we had a book of simple religious 
truths, in which she seemed much interested. 
She was learning English in view of teaching 
little children herself some day. She (O Hama 
san) did not remain in Tokio very long, but 
went to Yokohama, where she is still under 
Christian instruction. 

One evening, after the lamps were lighted, 
Chimura Goro, a man who was going to Ameri¬ 
ca with a daimio, brought two girls to be taught 
English. They were quite different from O Ha¬ 
ma san, being gayly dressed, with bright sashes 
and hairpins and powder and paint. They 
have been coming to school quite regularly 
ever since. The little girls are named Mishi 
and Kiyo. One room in the second story at 
Ro-ku-ban was fitted up for school-purposes. 
From every window we could look out upon 
the water. It was April when O Mishi san and 
O Kiyo san came, and the fort near Sku-da-ji- 
ma was just turning green. 


t l8 72 


156 The Sunrise Kingdom. 

Soon after the little girls came we had one 
of those terrible conflagrations which so often 
sweep over Tokio. We saw it, early in the 
afternoon, in the direction of the castle, never 
dreaming that it would come near us, but the 
wind blew in the direction of Ts’kiji, and it 
soon became evident that the greater part of 
the Concession was doomed. 

From the veranda of the mission-house we 
kept watch as one by one the old landmarks 
were swept away. Toward evening the scene 
grew wild. Men, women and children, with 
what they could carry in their arms and on their 
backs, fled to the open common near us. Ter¬ 
rified horses and frightened, screaming birds 
sought the same place of refuge. The fire 
seemed to be forming a circle around us. 
There was no way of escape except by the 
bay, so a boatman was engaged, and waited for 
hours, ready to take us off at any moment. 
But the mission-house was spared that time, 
and became a place of refuge for some of the 
homeless ones, who crowded on the lower 
veranda and protected themselves by screens. 

Such fires are not the same calamity to the 
Japanese that they would be to us. They 
expect them, and can easily save all of their, 
houses except the framework, which consists 
of poles and sticks of timber that can readily 


1872] 


An Open Door. 


157 


be replaced at very little cost. Their fire- 
engines are mere pumps, throwing a small jet 
of water, and are scarcely more efficacious than 
are the poles with long strips of paper attach¬ 
ed which they bring out to appease the gods. 
It is strange to see them running around with 
lighted lanterns, even in the full blaze of burn¬ 
ing houses. It is the law of the land, and they 
must obey whether it be necessary or not. 

One day after this the little girls came from 
their home near Shi-ba to find nothing of the 
pleasant house at Ro-ku-ban but the chimney 
and a heap of smouldering ashes. The house 
had burned that morning, taking fire from the 
kitchen stove-pipe. Books, dictionaries, man¬ 
uscripts and translations, the work of many 
months, perished in the flames. Homeless, we 
found a temporary shelter in the third story of 
Shin-yama da ya (“New Mountain House”), 
a large boarding-establishment on the corner 
of one of the busiest streets of Tokio. We 
had the whole of the upper story. There were 
a number of families below us. The landlady 
occupied part of the lower story, and near her 
room was a family consisting of the mother, 
a grown son, a little daughter and an old 
grandmother eighty years of age. The head of 
the latter was perfectly bald and she was bent 

almost double, but she was the brightest, cheer- 

14 


158 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1872 

iest old lady imaginable. On the second story 
was a music-teacher, a large, fine-looking Japan¬ 
ese woman, and opposite her an old man and 
a young girl. They were all exceedingly kind, 
but had a great many inquiries to make. 
“Where are you going?” was a question 
which had to be answered many times when 
we went through the building to go out. 

I went one evening to call on the family in 
the first story, and sat on the floor to have a 
cup of tea with them. The tea was very hot, 
but the mother took a large fan to cool it. I 
told them how old I was, and the ages of father, 
mother, grandfather and grandmother, and they 
told their ages. All this is etiquette. The old 
women especially esteem it a great compliment 
to be asked their age. They had many ques¬ 
tions to ask about the journey to America. I 
told them about our Sabbath and the God whom 
we worship, and then the man took a picture 
of his god out of his pocket. It was an exceed¬ 
ingly small affair, but he said that he prayed to 
it every morning, and that it would keep the 
house from burning down. 

The music-teacher entertained me pleasantly 
in her room on the second story. She was 
giving a lesson on the samisen to a little girl 
sitting on the floor. The music is very simple, 
consisting of one part only, and is learned en- 


1872] 


An Open Door. 


159 


tirely by imitation. The woman had many in¬ 
quiries to make about our little cabinet-organ, 
which was up stairs. It was an object of great 
curiosity to all, and a real missionary in itself. 
I could not touch a chord without bringing peo¬ 
ple up from all parts of the house. Sometimes 
I would stop working the pedals, and then they 
were puzzled, and would get down to see where 
the sound came from. 

For about a week after we went to Shin-yama 
a storm raged, and the Japanese house was 
very gloomy. But after that the sun came 
out, the days were bright and warm, and we 
could throw open all the slides. 

It was interesting to watch the people on the 
street and to listen to the street-cries, which, 
like those in our own cities, sometimes bear 
little resemblance to the words supposed to be 
uttered. At night the noises were very annoy¬ 
ing. Samisens, drums and other musical in¬ 
struments, with singing, the cries of the ped¬ 
dlers and the shrill whistles of the a-mas, 
rendered sleep almost impossible until long after 
midnight, and then there were only a few hours 
of quiet, for other noises began very early in 
the morning. 

Our pupils soon found us again after the fire, 
and went on with their lessons. Then Tama, 
a large girl, and Rio, a grave young woman 


160 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1872 

of. twenty-two or twenty-three, with To-yo, 
a bright, active child of six, were added to 
our number. 

Soon O Ka san (Japanese term for “mother”) 
heard of the school, and one bright June day 
brought her little I-ne, then a little more than 
eight years old. Her hair had all been cut 
short and fell over her forehead, and she wore 
a short coat; and when O Ka san asked per¬ 
mission to send her to school, I said, “Why, 
this is a little boy, and I have only girls in the 
afternoon.” But O Ka san laughed and said, 
“Oh no! This is a girl—-my little daughter.” 
And now the young and tender rice has been 
brought under cultivation: may it develop into 
beautiful refined strain ! 

Soon after I-ne came a little girl about the 
same age, named I-no, the daughter of an 
officer. The children brought beautiful wis¬ 
teria-blossoms and pink roses to ornament 
the room. The rose is not a Japanese flower, 
and its cultivation is somewhat difficult. The 
people call it the “ thorn-flower.” 

When the lessons were over in the third 
story of Shin-yama, the little girls gathered 
around the organ to learn some English hymns. 
The very first one was “ In the Light,” and they 
learned the meaning of “light,” “God” and 
“ walk ” in their own language. They sang 


1872] An Open Door. 161 

out the chorus loud and strong, and it sound¬ 
ed pleasantly in Shin-yama. Oh that the little 
feet may soon find their way into the king¬ 
dom ! Then indeed shall they “ walk in the 
light.” 

The warm summer days had come when we 
went back to Ro-ku-ban. We had only two 
small rooms, one above the other. The lower 
apartment served for dining-room, parlor and 
schoolroom. A board put upon some bricks 
and covered with a carpet made a bench for 
some of the scholars, and as the house-building 
progressed we were moved from room to room, 
all assisting merrily in carrying chairs. 

We had no dictionaries, no translations of 
any kind, and progress was necessarily slow, 
but the little school increased in numbers. 
The children learned many hymns—“ Little 
drops of water,” “There is a happy land,” 
“Jesus loves me,” and others—and partly 
committed and learned to chant the twenty- 
third Psalm. The words of all these were 
taught them orally by constant repetition. 

Little I-ne always had an English sentence 
ready to say when she came into the school¬ 
room, and she would repeat it with the utmost 
precision. O Ka san came with her every day, 
and sat near while the lessons were being read 
and explained. One day I overheard her say- 
14* L 


162 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1872- 


ing something about the creation of the world 
and Adam and Eve; and referring to some 
Japanese tradition, she said: “That” (the tra¬ 
dition) “ is a lie.” 

It was always pleasant to go into the school 
and see the bright, happy girls around the table. 
The first thing in the afternoon was- Mishi 
and Tama’s lesson. They read in the New 
Testament, as they had learned some English 
before they came to Ro-ku-ban. After this, 
I-ne, I-no and Kiyo read their lesson in the 
Reader and had their writing examined and 
copies set; and last of all came the large class 
of beginners. Then the books were carefully 
wrapped in pretty fu-ru-shi-kis; and after the 
general exercises of spelling, catechism and 
singing, the “ Good-byes ” were said, and the 
girls went to their homes in the great city. 
Now they are “resting:” the time for the sum¬ 
mer holidays has come. They all promised to 
come back punctually at the end of a month. 

We think that by this time the children have 
learned to regard our Bible as a very sacred 
book and to reverence the Sabbath. They 
have also learned of the true God and the 
precious name of Christ. Is not this a begin¬ 
ning? May we not hope ? Truly, God has 
opened the door: let us enter in with true 
faith and holy boldness. 


CHAPTER II. 


MIDSUMMER HOLIDAYS. 


“ Be not afraid; for I am with thee.” 

“ For I have much people in this city.” 


OW that the girls are “ resting- ” we 



1 \| have time to go about the city and into 
the suburbs. The introduction of th e jin-ri-ki- 
sha (“ man-power wheel ”)—a little two-wheeled 
carriage drawn by a man—adds greatly to the 
ease and enjoyment of travel. 

One Saturday morning O Ka san came with 
a jin-ri-ki-sha to take me out to the beautiful 
home at O-ji. It was well that when first the 
door was opened for me to approach the women 
of Tokio I found this one waiting to take me 
by the hand; she has done so much to make me 
feel less of a stranger in the land and to in¬ 
troduce me to her countrywomen. She always 
brings to me beautiful flowers and choice fruits 
arranged in the most tempting way, as expres¬ 
sions of her gratitude and esteem, and is ever 
helpful and kind. 

O Ka san’s invitation was accepted with 
pleasure. We seize eagerly every opportunity 


163 


164 The Sunrise Kingdom . [1872 

of getting nearer to the people and being with 
them in their homes. She had two jin-ri-ki-shas 
at the door—one for herself, and the other for 
her guest. We got into them, the coolies lift¬ 
ed the shafts, and we were rolled rapidly along 
through the streets of the city. It was a great 
festival-day, and poles were erected in front 
of houses and temples, with gayly-colored pa¬ 
pers flying from their tops. Crowds of peo¬ 
ple in holiday attire thronged the streets. It 
takes a long time to get into the country, as 
Tokio is a very large city. Through street 
after street lined with low wooden houses the 
coolies pulled the jin-ri-ki-shas before we 
reached the suburbs. The road to O-ji lies 
through the great shrub-district of Tokio. We 
saw tea-plantations and rice-paddies and wheat- 
fields with patches of yellow mustard-flowers. 
On this road are many nurseries, where flowers 
and trees are sold. Farmhouses, cedar trees, 
bamboo-groves and hedges make the road very 
pretty and attractive. After we had passed the 
entrance of the village of O-ji, we turned off 
into a lane, went through a gateway at the 
end, and were met and welcomed warmly by 
the kind people of the house. In the same 
enclosure with the house is a cotton-mill, in 
the operation of which the proprietors receive 
valuable aid from a skillful Englishman. Part 






































































' 

■ 

’ 




1872] Midsummer Holidays. 165 

of the house is built in foreign style and 
nicely furnished. 

The Japanese rooms were beautifully neat 
and clean. The large parlor ( o-za-shi-ki ) was 
open on all sides, and the view of the terraced 
garden was lovely. There were the usual arti¬ 
ficial lake with gold-fish, a fountain, and small 
hills made so that many shrubs and flowers 
could be planted in a limited space without 
any appearance of crowding. 

The dinner consisted of fish, small potatoes 
cooked very nicely, rice, sweetmeats and fruit, 
and all served in Japanese style. 

The afternoon was the pleasantest part of the 
whole day, when jin-ri-ki-shas were brought for 
a ride. Down the narrow lane, over the arched 
bridge which crosses O-ji creek, up the one 
long street of O-ji, with its streams of run¬ 
ning water on both sides, past hotels and tem¬ 
ples, the coolies drew the jin-ri-ki-shas, and at 
each turn there was something new to admire. 

The object of the ride was to visit the foun¬ 
tains of O-ji, and very beautiful they were. A 
little river almost hidden from sight by the 
dense shrubbery was near the first fountain, 
whose waters gushed clear and bright out of 
the living rock. A strange group of people 
were gathered there. On some faces marks 
of intense suffering were indelibly traced. 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1872 


166 


Those tortured with brain-diseases stood under 
the rock and let the cool water pour over their 
heads. Country-people from all the region 
round about O-ji seemed to be gathered there 
that day. At another fountain a similar group 
could be seen. From a high hill back of the 
one large temple at O-ji (there are several 
smaller ones there) we had grand views of the 
surrounding country. The old women who 
were with us went to the temple and worship¬ 
ed most devoutly, but O Ka san says she does 
not pray to idols. The rest of the afternoon 
was spent on Sa-ku-ra-ya-ma. It was pleasant 
under the trees; we had tea and fruit and a 
little melon which the people call ma-ka-wa-u- 
ri. At O-ji are mail}'- bi-wa trees, which bear 
in the early summer a yellow fruit about the 
size of an ordinary plum. 

Sa-ku-ra-ya-ma has a gentle, easy ascent on 
one side, but the other is a high precipice. 
Little flat stones like small earthen plates were 
sold us, that we might throw them down and 
tell in that way how far it is to the bottom. 
Through a green valley flowed the Sumida, 
looking like a silver thread in the distance. 

In the coolness of the evening the jin-ri-ki- 
shas were pulled rapidly home. The long 
summer day was over, but the recollections 
of sunny skies and fields of “ living green,” 


1872] 


Midsummer Holidays. 


167 


of fountains and clear, running streams, of 
sweet flowers and kind friends—even those 
of another land and speaking a strange lan¬ 
guage—linger in the memory. Yet with these 
memories come the words of the prophet: “ In 
that day shall a fountain be opened for sin and 
uncleanness,” and our hearts ask, “When will 
the eyes of this people be opened to see it ?” 

Another day we went in a house-boat a short 
distance up the Sumida, and then turned off 
into a canal to a distant part of the city to 
visit a temple where are the images of the 
deified five hundred disciples of Buddha. It 
was another festival-day, and the crowd in 
the temple prevented us from examining 
the statues, as we wished to do. Some of 
the figures were very striking in their ap¬ 
pearance, being in the form of venerable old 
men, but most of them were badly mutilated. 
In the principal temple, which was old and 
dilapidated, priests were chanting a service. 
One, who appeared to be a high priest, with a 
mitre on his head and clothed in rich robes, sat 
on an elevated chair. Above the heads of all 
towered an immense idol. The people who 
thronged the temple seemed to have no idea 
of worship, but were rude and noisy, and 
many of them drunk. 

That night was the end of O Bon , a great 


168 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1872 

festival which continues three days. During 
this period the people imagine that they are 
entertaining the spirits of the dead. It is a 
long, solemn festival, and the houses are swept 
and feasts prepared before it begins. It is 
during these three days that the “ fan-dances ” 
are performed. In these the men, who are 
mostly common coolies, or jin-ri-ki-sha men, 
move in a circle, waving their fans and keeping 
time gracefully to a weird melody which they 
chant in unison. As we came down the river 
that evening we saw lanterns floating down 
with the tide, and lights in various places near 
the shore. The spirits were supposed to go 
back to their abodes in the fire. 

But the greatest festival we have seen this 
summer was the Ka-wa bi-ra-ki , the “river-open¬ 
ing.” It took place at night, and the display 
of fireworks attracted thousands of people to 
Ri-yo-go-ku and Ad-zu-ma Bashi. The space 
between these two bridges was filled with boats 
ornamented with gay Chinese lanterns ; while 
in the boats people were dancing, singing and 
playing on samisens, fifes and drums. There 
was nothing remarkable in the fireworks, but 
the whole scene was most animated. 

Exactly what the meaning of this feast is we 
cannot ascertain. Some of the people say that 
it has something to do with a strange super- 


1872] Midsummer Holidays. 169 

stition concerning a fabulous water-monster, 
the Kappa , who requires to be periodically 
aroused or awakened. 

Another of our pleasant little excursions this 
summer was to O So so sama , a temple in the 
south-western suburbs. We were there in the 
evening, and the gathering darkness rendered 
the great temple in the solemn grove yet more 
impressive. A priest showed us a number of 
native offerings which from time to time have 
been made. There was a quantity of human 
hair hung up, and very singular figures painted 
or carved on wood. On one side of the temple 
was a garden. Trees had been trained to re¬ 
semble a line of hills, and the effect in the un¬ 
certain light in which we saw them was most 
peculiar and beautiful. The talkative priest 
also showed us the “holy water,” which he 
said would cure diseases of the eye. 

Just at dusk one day we stood in an old 
cemetery. The cemeteries in Japan, which 
are always near the temples, are very different 
from those we see in our country. The stones 
are crowded closely together, the inscriptions 
are in Chinese character, and in some stones 
a place for water is hollowed out, and flowers, 
with the ever-green leaves of the camellia, are 
kept in them. 

At death the body is carefully washed and 

15 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1872 


1 70 


the head shaved. The dead person becomes 
a priest, they say. The relatives gather to¬ 
gether, and there is much noise and drinking. 
The coffin is like the no-ri-mo-no, and the dead 
are buried in a sitting posture. Money and 
shoes are often placed in the coffin for the 
use of the deceased on his journey to Hades. 
Then the corpse is carried to the temple, and 
from thence to the grave. A new name is 
written on the tombstone, and the old one is 
sometimes forgotten. 

One joyful event has marked this summer: 
the foreign church has been dedicated. It 
stands near the mission-house. A church 
dedicated to the worship of the true God 
stands in the midst of this heathen city. 
Praised be God for this fact! 

O Ka san brought beautiful white flowers 
with which to decorate the church, and said 
that she wanted to learn about our way of 
worship, for she did not believe in idols and 
had none in her house. 

It has been pleasant thus to go about the 
city and mingle with the people; but often, 
seeing the multitudes who thronged the tem¬ 
ple-gates or mingled in the festivals, or even 
the ordinary crowds in the streets, a feeling 
of responsibility, and almost of despair, which 
was wellnigh unendurable, would steal over us, 


1872] 


Midsummer Holidays. 


171 


and we would cry out in our hearts, “What 
can we do among so many?” No mission¬ 
ary is a stranger to this feeling. Viewing 
mankind in the mass is always discouraging, 
but there is one thing of which we are sure, 
and on that we lean: “ The Lord knoweth 
them that are his.” 

Like Paul at Corinth, we can hear him say¬ 
ing unto us, “ I have much people in this city.” 
For there are here in this very city, where now 
heathenism and superstition prevail, many who 
will hear of the Lord Jesus, believe in his name, 
confess him before men, and proclaim him to 
their countrymen. Some of them may have 
already passed middle age, some may be strong 
men and women, some merry toddling children, 
and some little feeble babes. The Lord knows 
them all. Their names are written in his book. 
We do not know them, but he does. May we 
not pray, “Lead them to us—lead us to them”? 


CHAPTER III. 


THE GOSPEL IN JAPANESE. 

“ And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the 
everlasting gospel, to preach ... to every nation and kindred and 
tongue and people.” 

E ARLY in October, when the oranges 
were turning from green to gold and 
purple grapes and figs hung from vines and 
trees, when persimmons, red and yellow, bent 
the boughs and chrysanthemums made all the 
city gay with their bright colors, there came a 
book which was brighter and more beautiful 
than all else to us in Tokio—the Gospel of 
Mark in the Japanese language. 

Who of the early missionaries in Japan will 
ever forget that volume, with its yellow paper 
covers stitched in real native style, and Chinese 
characters on the title-page ? Who will forget 
with what joy we opened the book, turning the 
leaves from left to right, and read in Japanese 
the first words : “ The beginning of the gospel 
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Quickly 
following Mark, that Gospel which so concise¬ 
ly 


1872] 


The Gospel in Japanese. 


173 


ly sets forth the power of Christ, came John’s 
beautiful Gospel of love. 

Those who know something of the Japanese 
language can appreciate some of the difficulties 
in making a translation of the Scriptures ac¬ 
ceptable to the people. Let us look at some 
of the questions which have to be considered 
by translators. 

In what form shall the Scripture first be 
given to the people ? Will it not be best to 
put it in colloquial, so that all can read it ? 
That is something easily decided: it will not; 
for that would lower the character of the trans¬ 
lation. That being settled, what form of book- 
language will it be best to use ? Shall it be 
written with many Chinese characters and in 
high literary style, that it may please the schol¬ 
ars of the land ? In that case the merchants, 
artisans and coolies, women and little children, 
will not be able to understand it at all. Shall 
it be written in very simple language, without 
the Chinese ? Then all the great scholars will 
think it unworthy of notice. And while we 
believe that God “ chooseth the foolish things 
^of the world to confound the wise,” and while 
our hearts yearn toward the poor and lowly, 
we cannot, in the present state of the country, 
let a translation go out which will be utterly 

despised. Will it, then, be necessary to make 

15 * 


174 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1872 

two translations, one for the upper and one for 
the lower classes ? This would involve great 
labor and expense, and it is not deemed expe¬ 
dient just now. 

The best course to be pursued is to endeavor 
to give a translation that would so combine the 
various forms of book-language as to be gener¬ 
ally intelligible and free from the charge, on 
the one hand, of being too vulgar, and, on the 
other hand, of being beyond the comprehension 
of the masses. The first translations will ne¬ 
cessarily be imperfect, but they must be sent 
out and used until, in the years to come, the 
final accepted version shall be made. 

One of the great difficulties is in the selection 
of the characters to be used. Japanese books 
are invariably made up of a mixture of Hira- 
kana and Kata-kana , with Chinese characters. 
The Hira-kana is subject to many changes, as 
it is simply the reproduction in print of the 
chirography of the author, and of course is as 
varied as is the handwriting of different authors. 
The Kata-kana is fixed and is more like our 
capitals, and yet is not easily read by the peo¬ 
ple. The translation of Mark and John came 
out in the Hira-kana, with a few Chinese 
characters. 

Another difficulty arose in regard to the 
word to be used for “Deity”—whether it would 




1S72] The Gospel in Japanese. 175 

be better to originate a new name for that 
purpose, or to take their own word, Kami 
(“Sintoo god”), and have them gradually learn 
to attach a new meaning to it. The latter was 
considered the better way. The heathen will 
soon learn that our God is not as their god. 

We must remember that the beautiful words 
of Scripture, which have been familiar to us 
from childhood, mean to the heathen at first, 
even when translated into their own language, 
simply nothing. Take, for instance, the expres¬ 
sions, “ Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
away the sin of the world,” and “ The good 
Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” What 
meaning would these words convey to this 
people, who know nothing of pastoral life, and 
to whom the very existence of such animals as 
sheep or lambs has been unknown until very 
lately ? They who come into the kingdom have 
a new, heavenly language to learn, but the 
Holy Spirit is a great teacher, and they who 
permit themselves to be drawn under the power 
of the gospel will readily acquire its language, 
while little children who come into the mission- 
school will become familiar with it in their early 
years. Thus in prayer and faith the gospel is 
given to the people. 

Wonderful changes are taking place in the 
empire. We realize the importance of the 


176 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1872 


events of the day and the record they will 
make in this nation’s history. We can see 
the hand of God in all, though they do not. 

The imperial railway between Tokio and Yo¬ 
kohama was formally opened in October, and 
the Mikado-—the once secluded “ Son of Hea¬ 
ven ”—was present, attended by his nobles, and 
with the crowds of Japanese we all looked into 
his face as he sat upon the throne which had been 
erected at one end of a platform. Pillars beau¬ 
tifully decorated with chrysanthemums (the em¬ 
blem of royalty) lined the way on either side to 
the throne. Flags of all nations waved in the 
breeze, and a band of native musicians, led by 
an Englishman, played national airs. 

The ceremony was very impressive. The 
young emperor sat upon his throne with much 
dignity, and his lords arranged themselves in 
rows on each side. All were clad in the court- 
dress of ancient times. Papers unintelligible to 
us were read, and then the lords and the em¬ 
peror, in solemn, slow procession, retired. 

Shi-ba, the ancient sacred spot, which no one 
might enter save the tycoon and the high offi¬ 
cers, has been thrown open to the public. A 
great festival was held there, and thousands 
of people thronged the temple-grounds, eager 
to gain a view of the holy shrines. The priests, 
ever ready to seize on such occasions, had beg- 


ROKUBAN. Pa 8' c *77 






























> 









1872] The Gospel in Japanese. 177 

ged that this festival might be held in order 
to raise money for the temple. 

Another great change has been in regard to 
the reckoning of time. Henceforth the Japan¬ 
ese year will commence with ours, and the 
seventh-day rest—our Sabbath—will be ob¬ 
served instead of the Ichi rokus (“ one-six 
days”). This is decidedly the most hopeful 
change that has taken place. It will seem 
almost like an actual recognition of Chris¬ 
tianity when the next step is taken and they 
begin to reckon their years from the Chris¬ 
tian era. Of course the people know noth¬ 
ing of the sacredness of our Sabbath, but it 
is much gained that they now are obliged 
in some measure to regard it. 

But we must go back to the little school at 
Ro-ku-ban. The schoolhouse, designed also 
as a chapel, was finished in November; it 
stands at one side of the new mission-house. 
The walls are tiled on the outside and penciled 
with white plaster. The room inside is about 
twenty-four feet in length and sixteen in 
breadth. The ceiling is high, and the floor 
covered with a neat matting. From all of 
its six windows we can see the bay. A small 
stove heats the room, and on a platform are 
the blackboard and a little organ, while pic¬ 
tures, maps and mottoes adorn the walls. 

M 


173 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1872 


Over the blackboard is the motto, “ Little 
children, love one another.” At the front 
door are shelves for shoes: they are apt 
to be greatly in the way when no such ar¬ 
rangement is made. This room is a great 
comfort to us all, and the girls seem to enjoy 
it much. 

One of the ya-cu-nins at the custom-house 
(Kidera) brought his daughter Chiye (“Wis¬ 
dom ”) to school this fall. She is a bright, 
rosy-cheeked girl, and a most diligent scholar. 

December was a cold month, and the snow, 
which usually does not fall in Tokio until Feb¬ 
ruary, found its way to us then. Our little 
schoolroom looked pleasant and cheery on 
one of those snowy days in December. The 
wind came from the north and the snow 
fell all day, but the fire was kindled early 
and the door opened. 

Ko-ba-ya-shi san, a studious girl, who is 
always called by her family-name, and I-no, 
a faithful little scholar, arrived first, stamping 
their feet and shaking the snow from umbrel¬ 
las and cloaks before they came in. Then 
came our funny little Toyo, on the back of 
a man-servant. Her head was wrapped in 
a purple'cloth ( dzukin ). Almost all of these 
dzukins are purple, and when the girls come 
with their heads wrapped up in them it is 


1872] The Gospel in Japanese. 179 

impossible to distinguish one from the other. 
This little damsel took off dzukin, mino (“ rain¬ 
coat”) and shoes ( geta ), and ran across the 
floor in her bare feet. It always seemed 
strange to have these little ladies, with their 
rich robes, running about barefooted. Next 
came a jin-ri-ki-sha man, toiling through the 
snow with O I-ne san and her mother. 

The afternoon passed away quickly, while 
lessons were read in the schoolroom and the 
fire blazed in the stove and the snow fell over 
the city and into the dark water. Then the 
girls had a merry time getting ready to go 
home. 

They all learn well. Besides their reading- 
lessons, they have oral exercises on the map 
of the world, learning about different countries, 
and also spelling-lessons. The Catechism for 
Young Children is faithfully studied, and every 
day they sing. Their Bible verses are written 
in large letters upon the blackboard, and trans¬ 
lated for them word by word. Each word 
is precious seed sown in their hearts, and 
the ya-cu-nins cannot steal it away. O Ka 
san has bought a copy of the Gospel of 
Mark. 

The year ended happily for us, because 
great progress had been made in the work. 
Old Fu-ji looked out from behind the clouds 


180 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1872 

when the sun set for the last time that year, 
but the gospel Sun has arisen upon Japan. 
Light is so penetrating! Even those who 
try to shut up their hearts to prevent its 
entrance must know that the Sun is shining. 




CHAPTER IV. 


LOAVES AND FISHES. 


“And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he 
distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set 
down; and likewise of the fishes, as many as they would.” 


NE Friday we had for our lesson in school 



V_y the story of that scene on the Lake of 
Tiberias when Jesus lifted up his eyes to see 
the hungry multitudes who had followed him 
so many hours and listened to his words, and 
having compassion on them asked Philip, say¬ 
ing, “Where shall we buy bread, that these 
may eat?” We talked together of the lad 
who had the “five barley-loaves and the two 
small fishes,” and of how he had given them 
to Jesus, and how in his hands they multiplied 
and multiplied until all that great multitude 
had enough and to spare. What if the dis¬ 
ciples had rejected the few small loaves and 
fishes as being indeed nothing among so 
many ? Then the people would have gone 
away faint and starving. What if they had 
tried to go about the villages to buy bread? 

They would never have obtained enough. 

16 181 



182 


The Sunrise Kingdom. [1873 

Oh, well it was that they took the little they 
had and gave it to Jesus! 

The simple gospel narrative has ever been 
in my thoughts since I read it with the girls, 
and mingles with them now as I write the story 
of the last few months, the record of daily 
routine—always pleasant, never monotonous— 
in the schoolroom; the record of little every¬ 
day duties, nothing calling forth any great 
amount of courage or fortitude, all being the 
same old story which every missionary can 
tell of “ loaves and fishes ” given in faith to 
the Lord Jesus, believing that he can multi¬ 
ply them until thousands of hungry souls 
are fed. 

Bright dawned the new year, 1873. The 
house was ornamented with nan-ten and flowers, 
and the little girls came in the morning, dress¬ 
ed in their best, with belts of heavy silk, and 
new hairpins in their hair. They had all learn¬ 
ed our form of salutation, “ I wish you a happy 
New Year;” so we exchanged greetings in 
English. When O Ka san came, she pre¬ 
sented, in the name of the scholars and in 
a most graceful manner, New Year’s gifts to 
their teacher—ducks, oranges and dried per¬ 
simmons. After they had all sung some hymns 
they went away to enjoy the day at their own 
homes with battledores and shuttlecocks. 


1873] Loaves and Fishes. 183 

The first Sabbath of the year was a bright, 
pleasant day. O Ka san brought some camel¬ 
lias and plum-blossoms. The girls read the 
first ten verses of the eleventh chapter of Mat¬ 
thew in English, and Ko-ba-ya-shi san read in 
Line upon Line after the others had gone. We 
talked of the blood upon the door-posts and of 
the precious blood of Christ. The girls have 
little hymn-books of their own now, and enjoy 
them much. 

The school, through the winter, was not 
quite so prosperous as it had been. The 
Japanese are not a strong people, and are 
liable to consumption, insufficient food and 
clothing being the principal causes, so that 
cold weather does not seem to increase their 
energy. 

A man, by name Takahashi, came in Janu¬ 
ary to inquire about the school for his sister- 
in-law, O Yasu san, a gentle, pleasant girl, 
who entered soon after. We have heard that 
this man has been to missionaries of each 
different faith, Roman Catholic, Greek and 
Protestant, to make inquiries concerning re¬ 
ligion. 

One day we read in a Yokohama paper 
that toleration in religious matters had been 
proclaimed. It was joyful news to us, but 
the report proved to be without foundation, 




184 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1873 

for in June there began to be whispered 
again apprehensions of the dreaded ya-cu- 
nins. Some of the girls were afraid to come 
to the little Sabbath-school, which had been 
so faithfully attended during the winter and 
spring. 

Ko-ba-ya-shi san, who was afraid of the offi¬ 
cers, sent a note in which she said, “ I know 
it (Christianity) is an important thing, but it 
is not permitted.” 

I asked O Ka san if she was afraid to come 
to the Sunday-school, and she said, “ No; I 
think I will come,” but added, “ I do not care 
for myself, but I-ne is so little yet.” Poor 
people! it is hard that they cannot worship 
as they please. 

We found in the school-yard one day a 
little amulet, and on opening it discovered a 
cross made of two pieces of twisted paper, 
with the name “Jesus” written on another 
paper. It was I-ne’s. I said, “Why, O Ka 
san, what does this mean ?” and she said, 
“I-ne wanted the name of Jesus in her amu¬ 
let.” She tells me that I-ne and Sen ki-chi 
pray to Jesus, never minding the ridicule of 
the rest of the family. The story of the first 
prayer that I have heard of among the schol¬ 
ars is touching. O Ka san says that I-ne for¬ 
merly sang lies, but now she has good, true 


Loaves and Fishes. 


1873] 


185 


songs to sing—the hymns she has learned 
at school. 

We hear rumors of the probable dismissal 
of all Christian teachers from the government 
schools. It is trying to have to encounter 
all these things, after the bright hopes of the 
winter, but no one is discouraged. 

The castle was burned one cold night in 
March, and the emperor has taken refuge in 
the house of his mother. Some of the peo¬ 
ple saw the occupants of the palace as they 
were forced thus suddenly from their seclusion, 
and told how the court-ladies in their white 
robes ran affrighted through the streets of 
the city in the early morning. 

Some young men called, not long ago, to 
consult about revising some of the Chinese 
Christian literature, translating it into a style 
of Japanese writing which will be intelligible 
to the people. Whether they will carry out 
their purpose time alone will prove. Many 
things are begun in Japan which are never 
finished; but we stop to talk with all who 
come, and listen to their plans. 

The new house is completed, and the third 
story has been made into a dormitory for 
the Japanese girls who may want to come 
and live in the house. The large windows 

at each end of the room give light and air. 

16 * 


186 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1873 

Japanese slides divide it into little compart¬ 
ments. The ceiling is papered, and there is 
a pretty blue-and-gold paper around the win¬ 
dows. The veranda makes a nice place for 
the girls to play. 

The first girl who came to live with us was 
O Toki san. She was a very studious girl, 
and a Chinese scholar. She would sometimes 
tell of her wish, in early childhood, for an 
education beyond what was deemed sufficient 
for girls, and of the sneers and jeers she en¬ 
dured in endeavoring to accomplish her desires, 
being obliged to attend a boys’ school. She 
read with me the Gospel of John, but it 
seemed to make no impression on her heart. 
Only last month three sisters—I-so, Kuma 
and Nori—and a little cousin of theirs entered 
our family. The father of these girls, Mr. 
Koga, came with them, accompanied by a dai- 
mio, and they brought flowers and cake and 
crape. It is pleasant to see the fathers so in¬ 
terested in the education of their daughters. 

Life in the mission-house now is very dif¬ 
ferent from the loneliness of days gone by. 
The house is filled with the sounds of chil¬ 
dren’s laughter, and echoes to the patter of 
children’s feet. They seem very busy and 
happy. The little hymn, “Jesus loves me,” 
has been translated into Japanese, and we 


1873] Loaves and Fishes. 187 

have now The Catechism for Young Children — 
The Happy Book , which is its name in their 
language. Matthew’s Gospel, with a map of 
Palestine, has come to us, and we have the 
Jujika no mo-no gatari (“ The Themes of the 
Cross”), written in simple language, the first 
tract put forth in Japanese. For all these 
things we are truly thankful. 

Last Friday we read the hymn “ Beautiful 
Zion ” and had it explained. The day was 
excessively warm, and the text written on 
the blackboard was, “ Neither shall the sun 
light upon them, nor any heat.” The lesson 
was on heaven, and the girls seemed much 
interested. 

It is hard to have the little flock dispersed, 
for it is scarcely probable that they can all 
be gathered together again. They have learn¬ 
ed a great deal this session. Their faces 
show that their minds are developed, and 
they understand a few great truths. Every 
day they have a verse written on the black¬ 
board, and they copy it on their slates. To¬ 
day the verse was, “ I am the good Shepherd.” 

The girls have become very dear to their 
teacher. To tell the message of salvation 
to these precious souls is worth any sacrifice. 
Since January only three have left the school, 
and the number on the roll has increased to 


188 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1873 

seventeen, while the attendance has been more 
regular. Nor is this all. Through the girls 
we have gained access to their homes, and 
now we can talk to them about father and 
mother and brothers and sisters. 

A pleasant day was recently spent with 
Ko-ba-ya-shi san. She came with jin-ri-ki- 
shas, and we went to her home, in the direc¬ 
tion of Shi-ba. The mother met us at the 
gate and gave a pleasant welcome to her 
daughter’s teacher, and all day they enter¬ 
tained their foreign guest with the greatest 
ease and grace. They showed me pictures 
and books and took me to Atago yama, a 
high place back of the city, to point out the 
view. The aunt, who is quite a musician, 
played on the ko-to and sang. The old father 
is very fond of flowers and has a pretty gar¬ 
den, and there is an uncle who is a flower- 
painter. They had works on botany and paint¬ 
ings of flowers. 

And I have been in O Toki san’s house, 
near the castle, and to I-no’s pleasant home, 
in the suburbs, and to see O Rin san and O 
Chiye san, in the neighborhood of Ts’kiji, and 
also to visit I-so and Kuma and Nori’s home 
in the old ya-shi-ki where the poor dear 
little blind baby is. 

Who will not say that the “ loaves and fishes ” 


i« 73 ] 


Loaves and Fishes. 


189 


are multiplying ? Sometimes we long to do 
some great thing, to go and preach to the 
multitudes, endure great hardships, and then 
the story of the “ loaves and fishes ” comes 
with comfort to our hearts. Better give a 
little to Jesus than to try to do a great deal 
of ourselves. 



CHAPTER V. 


THE HOLY SPIRIT ALONE, 


“ Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot 
enter into the kingdom of God.” 


i stood, one day, at Sakura-yama and 



V V looked down on the village of O-ji, 
lying far below us. The houses looked pleas¬ 
ant in the summer sunlight, and the simple- 
hearted people were quietly pursuing their 
customary easy tasks. From one place and 
another smoke curled lazily upward. In the 
distance gleamed the Sumida, and O-ji creek 
ran swiftly over rocks at the foot of the hill. 
We could not see the sunny fountains, but 
knew that only a short distance away they 
were leaping and sparkling just as when we 
saw them last year. 

Gazing on that peaceful scene, the thought 
arose, “ Is it wise or best to disturb this peo¬ 
ple in their present state of content?” The 
gospel often brings, not peace, but a sword. 
“ The brother shall betray the brother to 
death, the father the son, and children shall 
rise up against their parents.” “ He that knew 


190 


i»73] 


The Holy Spirit Alone. 


191 


not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, 
shall be beaten with few stripes.” Is it well 
thus to make the irresponsible responsible ? 
We long so earnestly that the seed which is 
sown in the girls’ hearts may spring up and 
bear fruit; yet when it does, there will surely 
be a time of trouble for them—perhaps even 
of persecution. 

Let not any one wonder that such thoughts 
arise in the heart of a missionary. It is well 
to stop sometimes and consider carefully what 
we are doing, and it is well not only for us, 
but for those who are helping us; for letters 
from across the sea tell us of societies organ¬ 
ized and mission-bands formed, that women 
and children at home may work better with 
us among “ the women and children in hea¬ 
then lands.” Let us see if even children who 
give their pennies for the heathen cannot un¬ 
derstand the reasons why we send the gospel 
to them. 

Every Christian is a soldier. We have all 
entered into the army of the great King, and 
are bound to obey his commands, whether we 
fully understand them or not; and when he 
says, “ Go, win those lands for me,” must we 
look over into the enemy’s country and say, 
“ O Lord, they are all content with what they 
have. Their fields are very fair, their homes 


192 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1873 

look peaceful and pleasant; we would not 
disturb them in their quietness, and bring trou¬ 
ble and fire and sword ” ? No ; we must obey 
his command. It will not do, in religion, in 
science, or in anything else, to keep back the 
truth from the people because they may be 
happier or less responsible in a state of igno¬ 
rance. The King’s army bears aloft the ban¬ 
ners of truth, and with them we must push 
on until all the world be won. 

But let us look at Japan and the Japanese 
more closely. Under all this lovely landscape 
are hidden elements of destruction ; at almost 
any moment the earth may open and swallow 
us up. And the longer we dwell among this 
people, the more sensibly do we realize that 
there is also deep degradation and misery un¬ 
derlying all their fair and pleasant exterior. 

We have seen how goodly is this land, how 
bright its skies and how sweet its flowers, and 
havh seen, too, how fond the people are of all 
these things, and yet how far their hearts are 
from purity and holiness. We have heard some¬ 
thing - of their gods, and know that most revolt- 
ing tales are told concerning them; we have 
looked upon the temples, to find that under 
their very shadow the grossest sins are com¬ 
mitted and the vilest language used. We 
have found in their books some good moral 


The Holy Spirit Alone. 


193 


1S73] 


maxims, and even some which bear resem¬ 
blance to the teachings of Christ; and their 
laws and injunctions concerning obedience to 
parents and other virtues show us tha? the 
commandments involving man’s duty to his 
fellow-man are written in their hearts. They 
know what is right and wrong as well as 
we do, but all this, while we see the degra¬ 
dation of the people, only proves to us that 
man cannot make himself good. 

The Japanese are a cultivated people. Their 
books, to be sure, do not teach them much 
that is useful, but their minds are disciplined 
by the study to which they are obliged to 
apply themselves. In Japan religion and sci¬ 
ence have literally gone “ hand in hand.” In 
some countries missionaries make both the 
schools and the literature, but here we have 
to strain every nerve to make our schools as 
good, as those of the natives. 

We have seen this people in the early dawn 
of their new life, almost in the darkness, and 
yet struggling for something—they scarcely 
know what. We have seen them rynning 
eagerly after Western science and civilization, 
and have marked their rapid progress. Even 
before we came to Tokio the great govern¬ 
ment-school for boys ( Kai-sei yak-ko ) had 
been established. German, French and Eng- 
ir n 


*94 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1873 


lish teachers are employed there, and thou¬ 
sands of boys and young men may now re¬ 
ceive a complete education in the science and 
literature of these different nations. A gov¬ 
ernment-school for girls was opened just about 
the time that the mission-school was begun, and 
a foreign lady employed as teacher. Rail¬ 
roads have been built, and the telegraph is in 
active operation. We have seen the emperor 
come out from his seclusion and many walls 
of superstition broken down, but we believe 
that Japan can never be holy and happy with¬ 
out the Bible. 

The simple creed of the missionary is this: 
“ I believe that all men have wandered away 
from God; I believe that the one way back 
to God is through Christ; I believe that only 
by the breath of the Holy Spirit upon the 
word, as it is sown in the hearts of men, can 
they be purified and made fit to enter heaven.” 
And so with earnestness and faith we sow the 
seed, and we are glad to have those at home 
working- with us. For them too a “door” is 
“ open.” They too can give in faith “ loaves 
and fishes ” to the Saviour. They too can 
pray for the blessing of the Spirit. 

What says the children’s Happy Book? 
“ Can any one go to heaven, with this sinful 
nature ? No; our hearts must be changed 


iS73] The Holy Spirit Alone. 195 

before we can be fit for heaven.”—“What 
power can change a sinner’s heart ? The 
Holy Spirit alone.” And with the sound of 
the summer wind ever mingle the words of 
the text, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, 
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst 
not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: 
so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 

The days pass quickly at Ro-ku-ban. It 
seems but a little while since, in the spring 
and early summer, we looked for wild straw¬ 
berries and vines and flowers on the common, 
and twined them around the vases and picture- 
frames, and opened all the windows to let in 
the air. Now there are fires in the grates, and 
the windows are closed; the children gather 
beautiful fall grasses and autumn leaves. 

Since September we have all been busy in 
school. We have a catechism class entirely 
in Japanese on Wednesdays, which all the 
older girls attend regularly; we also close 
with prayer in the native tongue. It was hard 
at first to use this language in prayer to God, 
for a new form of expression had to be ac¬ 
quired in addressing the Deity; but after the 
form of petition had been learned the rest 
became easy, and we found how true it is: 


“ Prayer is the simplest form of speech 
That infant lips can try.” 


196 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1873 

One of the girls bought an extra Happy 
Book to leave at home for her parents. 

One day the girls had a good native elder 
from Yokohama (O-ku-no) to talk and pray 
with them. And now O-ku-no and another 
elder, Ongawa, have gone on a journey to¬ 
gether, the first missionary-tour. They knelt 
down and prayed before they started. We 
have not heard from them yet, but we follow 
them with our prayers. 

Our children are studying the map of Pal¬ 
estine. Even the little ones have learned the 
mountains, lakes, rivers and cities of Pales¬ 
tine, and they know it is called “The Holy 
Land.” 

The work is all-absorbing. There are cares 
and anxieties in it, and it is hard to know 
just what is right sometimes, but we trust 
that God is guiding us. 

Our lesson last Sabbath was on the indwell¬ 
ing of the Holy Spirit, our bodies being the 
temples of the Holy Ghost. It was a new 
doctrine to the girls, and they listened atten¬ 
tively, finding their proof-texts with interest. 
Next Sabbath their lesson will be on faith. 


CHAPTER VI. 


CHRISTMAS AT RO-KU-BAN. 

“ We love to sing around our King, 
And hail him blessed Jesus, 

For there’s no word ear ever heard 
So dear, so sweet, as * Jesus.’ ” 


HAT a New Year’s day for Tokio! 



V V The wind is from the north; the water 
is cold and dark. All day snow has been fall¬ 
ing, and the trees and roofs of the houses are 
covered with it. The girls could not come to 
give their usual greetings and little presents 
to their teacher. In the afternoon we took 
a walk in the storm. The streets were almost 
deserted, but within-doors the families seemed 
to be enjoying the day. Sounds of laughter 
and singing, with the familiar twang of the 
samisens, reached our ears. 

Our house is quiet without the girls, who 
are at home spending their New Year’s holi¬ 
days. We have had a great deal of earnest 
work during the last fall. There have been 
four classes to be taught. The older girls, 
who have been longest in the school, have 

17 * 197 


198 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1873 


been reading in an elementary book on physi¬ 
ology and universal history. There has been 
a Second Reader class, and one in a little book 
called First Footsteps in the Way of Knowledge , 
which the little ones enjoy, and there is always 
a class of beginners, for new scholars are con¬ 
stantly coming in. The last hour in school 
is occupied in general exercises—spelling, ge¬ 
ography, Bible verses and singing. 

These girls have very retentive memories. 
It is wonderful to hear them, even the little 
ones, repeat their English lessons, but they 
are too apt to repeat without trying to under¬ 
stand, and we find that great care has to be 
taken in training their minds. Constant re¬ 
view is necessary. Their delicacy of constitu¬ 
tion and weakness of eyes in many cases are 
serious drawbacks to their education. Espe¬ 
cially in the winter long intervals of rest are 
necessary to some of the most delicate ones. 
In the school of twenty-five girls some have 
already been marked by their teacher as schol¬ 
ars of peculiar ability and promise. 

The Japanese seemed to us at first all alike, 
but as we become better acquainted with them 
we can see the diversity of character. To 
speak of the scholars generally, we can say 
with truth that they learn well and are dili¬ 
gent in attendance, gentle, and respectful in 


18733 Christmas at Ro-ku-ban. 199 

their manners. Some are full of fun and a 
little noisy at times, but a word or a look is 
sufficient to restrain them. The class of little 
ones is very interesting. It is amusing some¬ 
times to see how earnestly they study, never 
pretending to play. Their little grave faces 
are bent over their slates as if some great 
result depended on the work being done well. 

Japanese music is very different from ours, 
but the girls seem to enjoy much our style 
of singing. Most of them can now sing by 
note, and their voices sometimes sound very 
sweetly. 

The Sabbath-school, which has been carried 
on without molestation from the ya-cu-nins, has 
usually been a little smaller than the day-school. 
Some of the girls even now seem to have se¬ 
rious thoughts about God and the world to 
come. O Chiye san, the daughter of the 
custom-house officer, appears at times very 
thoughtful. I talk with her, but it is hard to 
win our way to the hearts of this people. 
Their politeness forms a smooth surface which 
it is hard to penetrate. We feel sometimes 
as if we were getting in, but soon find our¬ 
selves slipping off again. 

Christmas in Japan .—We were busy for 
some days in preparing for Christmas, our 
first celebration of the day as a school. It 


200 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1873 


was like Christmas in the home-land to have 
to keep the children away from the parlor 
while the tree was being prepared. 

The servants helped with the outside dec¬ 
orations. Over the gate was an arch of ever¬ 
greens ; around the front door was another 
arch, of green leaves and yellow chrysanthe¬ 
mums. In the veranda, just at the entrance, 
was a large Chinese lantern, with “ Merry 
Christmas!” painted on it. In the hall, just 
over the parlor-door, was the word “Wel¬ 
come !” in gilt letters, with a wreath around 
it. The top of the chandelier was ornament¬ 
ed with flowers, and the words “ God Bless 
our Home” were wreathed with evergreens. 
In the niche on the stairs was a vase of beau¬ 
tiful flowers, and the framed motto “ God is 
Love ” was also ornamented. A wreath of 
vines and evergreens, with the bright nan-ten, 
hung in festoons from the ceiling, and at dif¬ 
ferent points around the room were large bou¬ 
quets. At each end of the bay-window was 
a beautiful gilt star. 

Near the bay-window stood our beautiful 
tree, with straight branches and reaching to 
the ceiling. We had Japanese candies made 
in all sorts of shapes for ornament. At the 
top of the tree was a large fish, which looked 
very much as if it were out of its element. 


1873 ] 


Christmas at Ro-ku-ban. 


201 


There was a candy man and woman dangling 
from the limbs, and horses, melons, gourds and 
cucumbers, all of which looked very bright 
and pretty. For the girls there were small 
bags filled with foreign candy and apples and 
Chinese oranges. There were three lanterns 
back of the tree, and we had all the lamps 
lighted. 

Japanese girls do not go out much at night, 
but all the scholars were present on this eve 
of Christmas. They assembled in the school¬ 
room and entered the parlor together, arrang¬ 
ing themselves, according to direction, on each 
side of the organ. They looked very nice in 
their dresses of silk and crape and heavy silk 
sashes, with their bright hairpins. They first 
sang “There is no name,” etc., then “Autumn,” 
and after that chanted the twenty-third Psalm. 
Then reward-cards marked with the number 
of times they had been present during the 
session were distributed. Two Christmas 
hymns were then sung: “We three kings 
of Orient are,” and “Who is He in yonder 
stall ?” after which, one of the missionaries 
made a little address in Japanese. When 
the things on the tree had been distributed, 
the girls sang the hymn, “When he cometh,” 
and chanted the Lord’s Prayer both in Japanese 
and English. Each scholar was then presented 


202 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1873 


with a little book. Then “ I am Jesus’ little 
lamb” was sung in Japanese, and “The Pil¬ 
grims’ Song ” for the end of the year. 

Several of the mothers and female friends 
of the scholars were present in holiday attire. 
The dress of Japanese women is very becom¬ 
ing, the want of proper fastenings being the 
greatest objection observable. When in full 
dress they wear pieces of crape at the throat. 
The black teeth of the married women and 
of elderly unmarried women spoil their ap¬ 
pearance. Little girls, until they are six or 
eight years old, have their hair “ banged ” or 
cut in a variety of ways, leaving bald places 
on their heads. They have various styles of 
hairpins for different ages—those for little chil¬ 
dren, and those for girls of fourteen and fifteen, 
and those for women; amber is preferred by 
the wealthy. They also wear very handsome 
tortoise-shell combs. 

But to return. The children doubtless have 
a pleasant impression of Christmas, and their 
singing and behavior were highly complimented 
by the foreigners who favored them with their 
presence that night. 

Christmas day was bright and warm. In 
the morning I went to call on the father and 
mother of O Chiye san, and to see the children. 
The father is very proud of them all, and takes 


1873] Christmas at Ro-ku-ban. 203 

great pains with their education. They arc 
nice children, with an amount of spirit and 
life uncommon to Japanese. The father gave 
many thanks for the entertainment of the 
previous evening. When anything is done 
for one member of a family, all the others 
will repeatedly thank you for it, until the “Do 
i-ta-ski-mas-tu ku f" (“ What have I done ?”) 
becomes irksome. 

The father said that the children had never 
seen a foreign apple before, and Riujiro, the 
little brother, had the empty candy-bag in his 
hand. Our Japanese friends have brought us 
many little gifts for Christmas, and we have 
had a pleasant time giving and receiving 
presents, and are happy in feeling that we 
are gaining our way into the hearts of the 
people. 

A normal school has been established in 
Tokio, where children are taught geography, 
history, etc., and have graded Japanese Read¬ 
ers. Teachers from all parts of the country 
visit it. 

The Union native church was organized 
this fall. Christians have not yet been trou¬ 
bled by the ya-cu-nins. And now we have 
another year of work before us. 


CHAPTER VII. 


THE “ PEEP OF DA Y.” 


“ Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring 
from on high hath visited us.” 



HE little book Peep of Day has been 


X translated into colloquial Japanese, and 
has already found its way to the homes of 
some of the people. It has been the young 
children’s Sunday-book in English for a long 
time, and now they have it in their own lan¬ 
guage. They call it Yo Ake (“ The very Be¬ 
ginning of the Morning"). 

Last summer a girl who had been baptized 
while a member of the Yokohama mission- 
school came to live with her old father in Shi- 
ba. She attended our Sabbath-school occa¬ 
sionally, and the girls all knew that she was 
a Christian and had been baptized. One day 
O Ya-su san came to me and said in a whisper 
so soft and low that I could scarcely under¬ 
stand her, “ I wish to be baptized like O Kwai 
san.” After that we studied the Little Cate¬ 
chism together, and she attended regularly the 
Bible classes, and in January was baptized. 


204 


*873] 


The “Peep of Day 


205 


Soon after, she married her brother-in-law, 
who has become settled in his faith at last, 
and is now a Protestant Christian. She is 
a young wife and stepmother, being only 
sixteen now. She had no opposition to fear 
in her own home in regard to her baptism. 
Indeed, the other members of her family de¬ 
sired it. 

It was during that same month that Deguchi 
Taka came to live with us. We call her Degu¬ 
chi san. She is a middle-aged Japanese widow, 
well educated in the Chinese language. She 
has been a pilgrim, going from shrine to shrine, 
vainly trying to obtain relief for her burdened 
heart, and has tried various sects of Buddhism 
and Sintooism, of which there are many, but 
as yet has failed to attain satisfaction. She 
succeeds very well in teaching the boarders 
Chinese and Japanese. 

Kato san, who has a writing-class in our 
school, has been a teacher of the Japanese 
language in the mission-house for some time, 
and has studied the translation of the gospel 
most diligently. Some believe that he is one 
of those “ not far from the kingdom of God,” 
but still he lives under bondage and will not 
break the fetters. He has two wives, one 
here and one in Osaca. 

The wife here seems, from some hidden 
18 



206 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1873 


cause, to have great influence over him. She 
is much opposed to his coming here and read¬ 
ing the Scriptures, as she sees that it arouses 
in him a sense of his sin. One Saturday 
morning she came here after him. Her eyes, 
swollen with weeping, and her long hair, stream¬ 
ing down her back, made her look almost like 
an insane person. It was impossible not to 
pity her, for she seemed in great distress; but 
she is not really his wife. She has two chil¬ 
dren of a former husband, and this man (our 
teacher) has two by his first wife. He was 
anxious that his daughter, Michi, should come 
into our family, and we took her, he engaging 
to pay for her tuition by teaching. He is an 
editor, and talks of starting a religious news¬ 
paper. A friend of his called to talk to us 
about the paper, but they will be obliged to 
get permission from the government before 
they can begin it. 

Some are beginning to inquire more closely 
about the Christian faith. A man from Aidzu 
(a province in the North) often comes to con¬ 
verse upon the subject of our religion. He is 
a strange, wild-looking man. We hear that 
Aidzu is a very rough country, almost buried 
in snow durinof the winter. 

Our new servant, Ume ki-chi, reads the 
Bible and attends the classes regularly. He 


1873] The “Peep of Day!' 207 

has a wife, mother and baby to support. The 
old woman, O Ba san, comes in every morn¬ 
ing to read the gospel with Deguchi san. 
Frequently they interrupt the reading with 
“ O arigatai koto" (“ A thing to be grateful 
for”). 

We have rumors of serious troubles in the 
South. Tales of war and bloodshed reach 
our ears, and there is some doubt as to the 
result. But the rebels do not appear to be es¬ 
pecially hostile toward foreigners. The prime 
minister does not give satisfaction; taxes are 
very oppressive, and the subject of the Corean 
war is being agitated. 

There is always more or less trouble among 
the Satsuma clan. The papers give a sad 
account of the state of things in Nagasaki, 
but nothing has yet been authenticated. It 
will be some time before these things are final¬ 
ly settled and peace and order restored, but 
the government will take care to protect life 
and property. 

Everything as yet is quiet in our city; the 
government troops are gaining victories, and 
we pray here every day for protection. Many 
believe that all these things are the beginning of 
better times and of more liberty to both native 
and foreign inhabitants. But we often feel 
cramped and fettered. Our boundaries are 



208 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1873 

fixed. The Foreign Concessions are pleasant, 
but we feel as though we should like to be 
free to live where we choose. 

Harder to bear than tidings of war in re¬ 
mote provinces and restrictions by the govern¬ 
ment, because it comes more closely to us, is 
the fact that some “ little foxes ” have crept 
unawares into our school. There are petty 
jealousies and disputings and murmurings, 
and some of these have grown to consider¬ 
able size. We have talked about it, and have 
knelt to ask God’s forgiveness and blessing, 
and since then have had less trouble. The 
girls have their faults—deeper, perhaps, though 
less apparent, than those of children at home. 
It is hard to know just what is going on in 
their hearts. 

Every Sabbath evening now a few people 
gather in the schoolroom to read the Bible. 
The carpenter, Ju ki-chi, comes sometimes, and 
the blacksmith, who has a blind daughter, and 
some of the neighbors and servants. They 
listen to the explanations given, and sing in 
Japanese. When the service is over they light 
their lanterns, and we hear the sound of their 
heavy clogs on the gravel as they turn away 
from the door toward their homes. 

A mission-school for boys has been com¬ 
menced, and is prospering. The old Shin-ya- 


* 873 ] 


The “Peep of Day .” 


209 


raa O Ba san is ill. She is growing very old 
and feeble, and our women will visit and read 
to her. 

I took a copy of Peep of Day to O Ka san 
the other day, and had an interesting talk with 
her. She seems to wish to know more of our 
religion. We go quietly along in the same 
routine day after day. There is little to re¬ 
cord, but life seems very full, and not at all 
monotonous. The light is growing brighter 
around us. 

“ Christ, whose glory fills the skies, 

Christ, the true, the only Light, 

Sun of righteousness, arise ! 

Triumph o’er the shades of night. 

Dayspring from on high, be near; 

Dayspring from on high, appear.” 

18 * 0 



CHAPTER VIII. 


THE WOMAN AT THE WELL, 


“ Then cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. . . . Jesus 
answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water 
shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall 
give him shall never thirst.” 


PRIL came in with a glad burst of sun¬ 



shine after all the storms of March. It 


is always a delightful month of the year here, 
as the flowers are then abundant and lovely. 
The girls bring great branches of peach and 
plum trees all bright with blossoms, and of 
camellias in bloom. We have vases in every 
corner of the house, and still are at a loss to 
know sometimes what to do with the frail 
treasures. 

The girls are developing very rapidly into 
womanhood. They have all changed much 
since first they began to study, and are im¬ 
proved in every way. Many of those who 
started with us have left us, but some have 
been faithful from the beginning. It is a fault 
of the Japanese character that they run eager- 


2 X0 


1874] 


The Woman at the Well. 


21 i 


ly after any new thing, but do not always 
persevere. 

We hear from the teacher in the girls’ de¬ 
partment of the government school that some 
of the pupils are very anxious to study the 
Bible. They have read something of Scrip¬ 
ture narrative in the Universal History , and 
want to learn more. How we do long for 
religious liberty in Japan! It seems almost 
cruel to let them only just peep in at a door 
which they may not enter. 

Our girls are more fortunate. Here we 
have greater freedom. O Chiye san first 
desired more Bible instruction than she could 
gain in school-hours. In a little note handed 
to her teacher she had written, “ I want to 
pray to God and receive help from him, and 
to walk in the same way in which you are 
walking.” So, after school-hours, she remain¬ 
ed to read the Bible. We selected the Epis¬ 
tles of Peter, and read of the “ inheritance 
of the saints,” of the Saviour, “ whom, not 
having seen, we love,” and of what a Chris¬ 
tian should be—like unto Jesus in all things 
and ever “looking for and hastening unto 
the coming of the day of God;” and she 
drank it all in like water to her thirsty soul. 
She is a girl of very superior mind, grasping 
an idea quickly and holding it firmly. I asked 


212 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1874 

her one day if she thought she loved the 
Lord enough to confess him before men, and 
she said she did; but a few days afterward 
she came and told me that her father was 
not willing that she should be baptized, as 
it was contrary to the law of the land. 

Soon afterward O Rin san remained to read, 
and one after another of the girls bought 
Bibles and came into the class. Every after¬ 
noon, when the regular exercises of .school 
were over and the little ones had gone, we 
read and talked together for an hour. 

The books of Ruth and Esther interested 
the girls. Many scenes in Oriental life they 
can understand better than children at home. 
The story of Esther’s petition to the king 
was one to which they listened eagerly, and 
after this lesson O Chiye san led our devotions 
in prayer for the first time. It is unspeakably 
pleasant to hear the voices of these people in 
prayer. 

In the New Testament we read the Acts. 
We very much want a translation of that 
book, which seems especially appropriate to 
this country. We still have only the three 
Gospels, and the rest of the Bible must be 
read in English and carefully translated. 

Our principal text-book is the Bible. To 
translate it into intelligible Japanese for the 


1874] The Woman at the Well. 213 

class is part of my daily work. When the 
sun sinks behind Fu-ji and the evening has 
come, the children come down to sing, and 
then we go up into the “ study-room ” to have 
worship. The girls have been reading Line 
upon Line , and have finished the story of 
Joseph. It is almost like hearing it for the 
first time myself to read it in a new language 
to those who have never heard it before. 

Our Sabbath lessons have all been inter¬ 
esting. One Sabbath we had for our lesson 
the healing of the paralytic at the pool of 
Bethesda. How like the crowd who gathered 
there must be the people who congregate at 
O-ji’s fountains and Ha-ko-ne’s springs ! Again, 
the girls listened attentively to the story of 
the blind man who received his sight and 
who said, “Whether he be a sinner or not, 
I know not. This one thing I know: whereas 
I was blind, now I see.” And one Sabbath- 
day our lesson was in the fourth chapter of 
John’s Gospel—the story of the Samaritan 
woman at the well. We talked about it, and 
I said, “You are like that woman. All you 
who have tasted these living waters, came 
here thinking to draw water from earthly 
cisterns, and, lo! you have found heavenly 
fountains, pure and sweet and fresh. ‘ Drink 
and never thirst again,’ and then go quickly— 


214 TA? Sunrise Kingdom. [1874 

quickly go—and tell of it, that many in your 
city may also come and drink.” 

A short time ago the clouds which had hung 
for many days over us during the rainy season 
broke away and sailed off into the blue depths, 
and were seen no more. In like manner have 
our little troubles disappeared, floating away 
somewhere, and the girls are happy again. 

The older girls have finished their lessons 
in the Happy Book. They read twice a week 
in a little abridged copy of Wayland’s Moral 
Science , and like it very much; it does them 
good. We have interesting talks in the 
class. 

Now the summer “resting-time” has come 
again. When we closed our Bible class for 
the summer, I asked the girls to remember 
the hour between four and five p. m. as a 
time for the study of the Scriptures, and they 
promised to do so. 

I was glad to accept the invitation to spend 
a few days in Yokosuka , a pretty village down 
the coast. The invitation came from Hiyodo 
san, O Chiye san’s aunt. O Chiye san’s father 
insisted upon its being accepted, so she and 
I went in the cars to Yokohama, about an 
hour’s ride, and then took a little steamer for 
Yokosuka. 

We left Yokohama about four p. m., and it 


1874] The Woman at the Well. 215 

was a little after six p. m. when the steamer 
landed at the wharf. It seemed quite home¬ 
like to find boys waiting for us at the landing, 
ready to carry baskets and bundles to the 
house, which we reached after a short walk 
down a shady lane. 

Yokosuka is a pretty village with a beautiful 
harbor, shut in by hills. It is the great navy- 
yard of this part of the country. There are 
extensive machine-shops and large docks. 
Considerable activity was visible both in build¬ 
ing new vessels and repairing old ones. The 
French are in charge of all this work, and 
there are pretty dwelling-houses and a little 
Roman Catholic church. On a compound 
goats were feeding, for wherever you find 
French people you will also find goats. 

Hiyodo’s house is the very neatest of all 
the neat houses in Japan. The servants are 
kept busy dusting, sweeping and scrubbing. 
The parlor, or guest-chamber, is on one side 
of the entrance, and back of this there are 
pretty rooms opening into a court. Each 
evening the man-servant went through the 
courts with a pail and dipper and threw water 
over the trees and bushes. Back of the house 
rises abruptly a high hill, and where the view 
of the ocean and surrounding country is finest 
there is a tea-house belonging to the family, 


2i6 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1874 

which we enjoyed very much. The children 
kept climbing- up and down the steep ascent, 
bringing sweetmeats, fruit and tea. In the 
front of the house we could see higher hills in 
the distance, and we watched the moon rising 
over them each evening of our stay. Down 
by the public road was a little summer-house 
with a lattice, so that we could, if we wished, 
watch the passers-by. The Japanese have 
a number of such contrivances to aid them 
in enjoying life. 

The family, consisting of the parents, three 
children and servants, with their guests, made 
quite a large party. The children were well 
governed and everything in the house was 
nicely arranged, and nothing could exceed 
the ease and grace with which the mistress 
of the house entertained her foreign guest. 

When the father went to his business in 
the morning, the children all bowed down 
to the floor and said, “ Saionara ,” and when 
he returned all went to the door to salute him. 
A child never left the house without saying to 
the mother, “Mo mairi masu" (“I am going”), 
and on returning would say: “ Ta-da-i ma ” 
(“Just now I have come”). 

We all ate together in the best room, pa¬ 
rents and children sitting around the little 
tables, while they had a high stand for their 


1S74] 


The Woman at the Well. 


217 


visitor. Breakfast usually consisted 01 og^s, rice 
and fish, lunch the same, while at the evening 
dinner there was more variety. Fruits and 
sweetmeats were partaken of between meals. 

One evening some visitors came—a young 
married sister with her baby, and some othei 
relatives. The lights were put out that the 
moonlight might have its full effect. The 
mother plays well on the ko-to, and she brought 
out her instrument and sang for us. A young 
man performed one of the slow, weird dances 
of his country, moving his whole body grace¬ 
fully. Then we sang “ Shall we gather at the 
river?” in English. How I wished they could 
all understand the words! 

When night came the maids brought the 
futons and great green mosquito-nets, put¬ 
ting the former down on the floor and fast¬ 
ening the latter to the walls by means of 
strings. Then the lamps—for they had for¬ 
eign oil-lamps—were put out, and we were 
left to sleep. The lady frequently said, “ O ki 
no do ku sama ” (“ Poison to your soul ”), mean¬ 
ing that I was suffering from the lack of things 
to which foreigners are accustomed; but she 
always received an answer to the contrary. 
The greatest difficulty was how' to dress in 
the morning, as the mosquito-nets were taken 
down and all the slides opened. We are 

19 


2 18 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1874 


not accustomed to make our toilets in such 
a public manner. 

We met the little child of the family on 
entering the lane, in front of the house, just 
fresh from his bath, with his hair all wet and 
plastered down to the sides of his head. The 
mother takes great care of the children, and 
no one would dream that she is not their own 
mother, nor that they each one have a different 
mother. It is not always pleasant to look 
below the surface: many disagreeable things 
appear to us which we hardly expected. 

One pleasant Sabbath afternoon in vacation 
a few of the girls came to read the Bible, and 
our lesson was on the “ new song,” the song 
beginning in feeble strains on earth and end¬ 
ing in the full harmonies of heaven. Deguchi 
san said they wanted to learn the song. I 
could not but ask with joy, “ What have these 
girls already found in the kingdom of God?” 
A new language to speak, a new song to 
sing, fountains to cleanse their sinful hearts, 
wells of water to quench their thirst, and, 
above all, the Sun of righteousness to shine 
for evermore on their benighted souls. 

“ And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come; 
and let him that heareth say, Come; and let 
him that is athirst, come; and whosoever will, 
let him take the water of life freely.” 


BOOK III. 


CHAPTER I 


“ THE CHURCHES OF ASIA SALUTE YOU." 


“ Behold, I have graven thee on the palms of my hands : thy walls 
are continually before me.” 


UR school began brightly and pleasantly 



in September. But few of the old schol¬ 
ars were missing on the very first day, and 
others soon joined our ranks. O Ka san 
brought three new pupils to school—I chi, 
Sudzu and an aunt of the last named. Four 
sisters named Sa-ku-mo, Mashi, Yasu and Mitsu 
were also brought by a relative of theirs. 
These are boarders, the other three day-schol¬ 
ars. A little girl named Aida Kame came 
into our family before the last session closed. 

We miss O Rin san from our classes. We 
are sorry, for she wants to come to school, 
but her grandmother will not allow it. Some¬ 
times these ignorant, prejudiced grandmothers 
can have a great deal of influence in keeping 
a girl away from school. More than one 


219 



220 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1874 

missionary has had the same thing to contend 
with. In spite of the servitude of women, 
the O Ba sans contrive in some way to keep 
girls at home, even though the fathers have 
no objection to their attendance at school. 
But we still pray for O Rin san, and hope 
some time to see her. 

The state of things with us just now is 
intensely interesting, calling forth every energy 
of soul and body. In July the man who 
brought our first little pupils, and who after¬ 
ward went to America, was examined as to 
his faith and knowledge, previous to baptism. 
Deguchi san, Kato san and our girls, with Ju ki- 
chi, the carpenter, and U-me-ki-chi, were all 
present. Chimura is an elderly man and a 
scholar, and his examination was very strict. 
His answers displayed a wonderful knowledge 
of the Bible. He has been thinking about 
being a Christian for years. He was baptized 
soon after in our little schoolroom, all of the 
girls being present. 

The Bible class was begun again with the 
new school-session. Some of the girls wish to 
be baptized, but their fathers will not permit it, 
and they cannot see clearly their duty in the 
matter. 

O Chiye san begins to realize that God’s 
claims are above her father’s, and is sorely 


1874] “The Churches of Asia Salute You.” 221 

perplexed and troubled. More than two years 
have passed since she came into the mission- 
school. Then she was a round-faced, rosy- 
cheeked girl, with nothing to mark her ex¬ 
cept apparent good-nature. Now she has 
a thoughtful, earnest expression, and often 
seems sad and depressed. 

Shige, a girl of fourteen, is an earnest lover 
of God’s word. She is very bright and earn¬ 
est, and anxious to do right. “ I am not good,” 
she said one day, “ but I will try to be better.” 
She told with sobs of her father’s angry refu¬ 
sal to permit her to be baptized, and of how 
he threatened to take her from school. Others 
seem inclined to walk in the same good way, 
but are deterred from making a profession of 
religion by fear of their fathers’ anger. 

We knew long ago that such a time of trou¬ 
ble would come, and we paused and thought 
about it, and then went on, knowing that we 
were doing right. We cannot do much to 
help the girls, and can only commend them 
to the care of the Shepherd who is calling 
his flock from out of all the nations. We 
never advise the girls to go contrary to their 
fathers’ wishes. They all need instruction, 
and are here receiving it. They attend the 
services, are thoughtful and attentive, con¬ 
duct their own little prayer-meetings, and 
19 * 



222 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1874 

lead in prayer. Their petitions are simple 
and touching. 

Many interesting meetings were held in the 
schoolroom. One evening all listened with 
marked seriousness to the sermon. After a 
hymn had been sung, those who desired bap¬ 
tism were requested to come forward, and 
seven responded. Toda san, who lives on 
the To-ri, was the first one, then three young 
men in the school, and then Deguchi san, our 
O Ba san, and U-me-ki-chi, all of whom were 
soon after baptized, with three others. 

It was November when the church was 
regularly organized and elders and deacons 
ordained. The scene was an impressive one, 
and all seemed very thoughtful. An address 
was made to the elders, deacons, church mem¬ 
bers and outsiders. The girls chanted the 
Lord’s Prayer in Japanese. Then a hymn 
was sung, the benediction was pronounced, 
and the little company dispersed. Thus did 
another “church in Asia” (Japan) salute their 
brethren of like faith throughout the world. 

Our first little hymn-book in Japanese came 
to us last summer. It has eighteen hymns, 
besides the Doxology. The first one, which 
we sing to “Old Hundred,” is “Ye people 
who on earth do dwell.” We have “ Rock of 
ages,” “There is a happy land,” “Joyfully, 


1874] “The Churches of Asia Salute You." 223 

joyfully,” “To-day the Saviour calls,” and 
others. But the great favorite is “Jesus loves 
me.” No one who has been associated in 
any way with the early Japanese church can 
ever forget that hymn. It has been sung at 
church, inquiry-meetings, prayer-meetings and 
Sunday-school. The children love it, and we 
often hear them singing it as they play about 
the room. How many first things we have 
seen in Japan, the beginnings of various 
changes! How we have welcomed each help 
as it came! How we have hailed with joy 
each indication of progress in anything! 

Events are pressing rapidly upon us now. 
Toda was anxious, as soon as he received 
baptism himself, that friends and neighbors 
should hear the gospel. So we went one 
night to his house on the Tori —Ginza we call 
it now, with its foreign-built houses. Chimura 
Goro held a lantern to light us through the 
back streets of the city, but on the Ginza no 
such aid was required. The lights in the 
houses and the lanterns of the jin-ri-ki-sha 
men made the scene very animated. 

In the upper room of Toda san’s house 
quite a little company had gathered, and among 
them five women. The men were all in one 
room, and the women in an adjoining apart¬ 
ment, with the door between opened that they 



224 Th e Sunrise Kingdom. [1874 

might listen. They did listen, and with some 
degree of interest, but occasionally would all 
go away—perhaps to have a smoke. 

Toda san’s wife is a young, pretty woman, 
and can read a little English. These women 
grow old very fast. There were two or three 
who were only twenty-three or -four years of 
age, they said, but they looked as though they 
might be thirty. Their habits of smoking, tea¬ 
drinking, and others equally pernicious, cause 
them to look older than they really are. 

Meetings are held in different parts of the 
city. Chimura san’s house is near Shi-ba, and 
one bitterly cold night we all went over there. 
The girls begged to go. The way was long 
and the night dark, but we enjoyed it as we 
walked along the quiet streets by the light 
of the lanterns. 

The large rooms were thrown together, and 
candles and lamps gave light, while in the hi- 
ba-chis the charcoal glowed brightly. A num¬ 
ber of the neighbors gathered in to listen to 
the preaching and join in the singing. All 
these things are encouraging to us, and we 
gladly go as we are called from place to place. 

But the little schoolhouse grew too small to 
accommodate the numbers who gathered there 
on Sunday afternoons; some had to go away. 
So a large wooden building was erected, and 


1874] “The Churches of Asia Salute You.” 225 

dedicated to the service of God. It is near 
Ts’kiji, but out of the Concession, and we 
bought it in the name of a Japanese. The 
building is low and plain, but neat and cheer¬ 
ful. The platform is covered with a carpet, 
and has a desk and a little table. The seats 
are wooden benches, but comfortable. On 
the broad aisle is matting. There are some 
mats for old and feeble persons to sit upon if 
they prefer the Japanese way of sitting. 

The dedication of this building to the ser¬ 
vice of God was an interesting occasion. The 
house was well filled. An invocation was 
offered, the Lord’s Prayer chanted in Japanese, 
a missionary made an earnest prayer, and Chi- 
mura san read the Scripture lesson. Then 
one of the oldest missionaries preached a 
sermon on the text: “ They shall be one.” 

The subject was the oneness of believers. All 
listened, and even children understood how 
they who believe in Jesus are one. Chimura 
san’s servant, Sawa, was baptized. His wife, 
O Kiyo san, had been baptized some weeks 
before. Now the whole family are in the 
church. 

We sang “Old Hundred,” “America,” “Joy¬ 
fully, joyfully,” and our sweet little hymn “Je¬ 
sus loves me.” Soon afterward our Sabbath- 
school was organized with seventy members. 



226 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1874 

Who remembers the time when Takejiro, Toi- 
chi and his mother stumbled over a few Eng¬ 
lish words and sang “ There is a happy land ” 
in the little Japanese house on the corner? 
And now we have a church-building filled with 
worshipers and those who come to hear the 
word. We have also the Gospels and a hymn- 
book, with some tracts and the Happy Book, 
and also a Sabbath-school. 

Oh, Christians at home, it is so little com¬ 
pared to what you have, and yet it seems so 
much to us! And now indeed “ the churches 
of Asia salute you.” They say unto you, 
“Rejoice and be glad with us; for the Sun 
which has so long shone over you is rising 
upon us—not to leave you in darkness, for 
it shineth night and day, but to be our Sun 
also.” 

Christians at home, our little church in Asia 
salutes you, saying, “ Ohayo !"—a glad “Good¬ 
morning !” 



CHAPTER II. 


ENO-SHIMA. 


“ He hath made everything beautiful.” 


LOVELY, happy day.” This is an ex- 



ii tract from a diary, and the day was the 
31st of October, 1874, when O Chiye san and 
I started on a little trip to Eno-Shima, an 
island down the coast. 

It is one of the “ compensations ” of mission¬ 
ary-life, if we need any, that our homes are 
often in beautiful, pleasant lands. There are 
few missionaries with whom I have been 
brought into contact who do not find relief 
from loneliness in the natural beauties around 
them. The flowers are dear companions in 
our exile; the sea tells of the power of the 
Creator in its deep thunderings, and in its 
soft murmurings whispers stories of love and 
peace; while the mountains are our grand 
old friends, symbols of constancy and fidelity. 
There are many “ lovely, happy days ” to 
record. 

This one was an autumn day. The maple- 


227 




228 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1874 

leaves were red and glorious in the rich Octo¬ 
ber sunshine, and the familiar road to Fu-ji-sa-wa 
was even more beautiful than in midsummer. 
At Fu-ji-sa-wa we turned off the main road to 
reach the seacoast. The road was narrow, 
and we had difficulty in passing the frequent 
trains of packhorses. All around rose little 
hills still green and fair. 

It was only a short journey across the fields 
in the jin-ri-ki-shas ; then a hard pull over the 
sand brought us within sight and hearing of 
the glorious Pacific, and before us rose E-no- 
Shi-ma, a mountain-island clothed in richest 
green, with the sea thundering at its base, 
and just enough mist gathering over it to 
heighten its beauty. At one time, probably, 
it was entirely separated from the mainland, 
but gradually a sandy isthmus has been form¬ 
ed, over which people can walk to the island. 
Its lofty sides are almost perpendicular, with 
overhanging cliffs. Trees grow over it, afford¬ 
ing in places beautiful bowers and shady re¬ 
treats. It is covered with an almost tropical 
verdure. 

On the island are numerous tea-houses and 
little open shops where shell-work is kept for 
sale. The island is dedicated to the goddess 
Benten, who is one of the “ happy gods.” She 
ought, at least, to be content with her island, 


Eno-Shima. 


229 


1874 ] 

for it is a rarely lovely spot, and a week there 
passed rapidly away. The hotel was comfort¬ 
able and quiet, as there are no pilgrims—or 
very few—at this season of the year. 

We had a delightful walk over the island. 
Up and down stone steps we climbed, often 
stopping to enjoy the magnificent views of 
sea and coast and distant mountains. At one 
point on the road we peeped into a yawning 
chasm. Numbers of divers passed us, going 
easily down the steep path, which was so diffi¬ 
cult to us. 

We climbed carefully over the rocks, gradu¬ 
ally making our way to a deep cavern. The 
roar of the ocean at its entrance was almost 
deafening. This entrance was a narrow, slip¬ 
pery path along the rocks, which widened by 
degrees until the road became less dangerous. 
Within the cave, dimly lighted by tapers, sat 
an old man, and two little boys acted as our 
guides. We had to stop often, had once to 
crawl through a hole, and at the end of this 
dark, dangerous way we found an idol with 
tapers burning before it—doubtless one of the 
representations of Benten, for she is said to 
have appeared in many forms. 

We were glad to get out into the bright day¬ 
light once more, and stopped to watch the 

divers go down in the water and bring up 
20 




230 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1874 


shellfish. We, too, gathered shells on the 
sandy isthmus, and looked at the shell-work 
and marine curiosities in the shops. Little 
screens with figures of men and women, birds 
and flowers, were pretty, but the natural curi¬ 
osities were more attractive. Here is found 
the beautiful glass coral, resembling in texture 
and appearance finely-spun glass. We are 
told that it is only to be found here and on 
the coast of Spain. The calls of the old 
women at the shops to come and buy were 
frequent and importunate; we would stop to 
chat with them, and occasionally buy some of 
their little things. 

We took a kago one day, and went over to 
see Dai Butsu. The road lay along the sea¬ 
shore. The natives were busily engaged in 
gathering seaweeds. They had long wooden 
hooks, with which they secured the seaweed 
as it was washed on the shore. Between the 
breakers they would run out into the water, 
sometimes up to their knees. Occasionally 
a wave would be too quick for them, and they 
would be well soaked; but as their clothing 
was very scant, it made little difference to 
them. 

From a little hamlet on the shore we turned 
off into the country, and went through rice- 
paddies to Dai Butsu, “the Great Buddha.” 




































’ 

» 

■ 










1874] 


Eno-Shima. 


231 


This is a bronze image fifty feet high and well 
proportioned. It is in a sitting posture, with 
hands clasped and head bent forward. The 
features are regular and the forehead bears the 
round drop in the centre—the peculiar mark 
of Buddha. 

No temple is near the Great Buddha now, 
and there he sits all alone, looking down 
with mild, placid countenance on those who 
go to see him. We went inside of him, 
walked around him, asked questions about 
him, bought his picture, and did not go away 
without turning back to see him, high above 
everything else in the vicinity, looking down 
upon us, but with manifest indifference. Near 
Dai Butsu is Kamaktira , the ancient capital 
of Japan, where the great hero Yoritomo 
lived, and where in a temple his armor, 
shoes and no-ri-mo-nos are still preserved. 
The tide was very high, almost covering 
the isthmus, as we returned to E-no-Shi-ma. 
The waves came rolling in splendidly, and 
the walk was exciting. 

The next day the rain came down in tor¬ 
rents. It knows how to rain in Japan. But 
the scenes, even on rainy days, never lose the 
charm of novelty to me. The straw rain-coats, 
and the hats which serve some of the people 
instead of umbrellas, are very peculiar. The 


232 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1874 

rain pours off the roofs of the houses and 
runs in streams down the gutters, while dogs, 
ducks and chickens crowd close to the house, 
looking wet and miserable. We sat in the 
hotel-entrance and watched the travelers as 
they passed, until too many sought refuge in 
the hotel, and we went to our own room. But 
there was only one cold, rainy day, and E-no- 
Shi-ma was lovely that first week in November, 
so that we came back with pleasant remem¬ 
brances of the island. 

Associated with these remembrances is also 
the memory of another pleasant day the same 
autumn, spent in some gardens where there 
was a brilliant display of chrysanthemums. 
These flower-shows are usual with the Jap¬ 
anese when the chrysanthemums are brightest 
and most abundant. There were figures dress¬ 
ed in the leaves and flowers, which were very 
pretty and evinced much taste and skill. Some 
of them were ancient historic characters, others 
figures of men, women and children; but the 
prettiest thing of all was a white bird. 

The display of chrysanthemums was magnif¬ 
icent: all colors and all sizes were on exhibi¬ 
tion. The beautiful trees, with their rich va¬ 
ried foliage, red, yellow and different shades 
of green, in some places grouped together 
and looking like enormous bouquets, formed 


1874] 


Eno-Shima. 


233 


a scene beautiful beyond description, and one 
never to be forgotten. One scene was espe¬ 
cially gorgeous. We were riding in jin-ri-ki- 
shas through a long avenue of trees with 
dark-green leaves, when we passed some red 
maples. The bright sun shone through the 
red leaves, producing a most brilliant effect. 

These are some of the pleasures that come 
to us in our mission-homes. 

20 * 



CHAPTER III. 


THE STRAIT GATE AND THE NARROW WAY. 

ei Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth 
unto life.” 

A T last the girls came up to the strait gate: 

they could not walk any longer in the 
heavenly way without going through it. The 
time came when they had to choose between 
obeying the commands of God and yielding 
to the fear of man. Some of them turned 
away and went back ; for some, the entrance 
did not seem so difficult; while others waited 
long without, fearing and trembling and shed¬ 
ding many tears. And all the while the gentle 
Saviour stood near and said, “ Come unto me.” 
“ Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and 
after that have no more that they can do.” 
“ Whosoever shall confess me before men, 
him shall the Son of man also confess before 
the angels of God.” Angels beheld the con¬ 
flict and rejoiced over each victory, and teach¬ 
ers and Christian friends watched with eager 
solicitude and constant prayer. 

We sent once in the fall for O Chiye san’s 

234 


1875] Strait Gate and Narrow Way. 235 

father to come and talk about his daughter’s 
baptism. He said that he had no objection 
himself, but in his department the ya-cu-nins 
were obliged to send the names of any who 
received baptism to the general government, 
and his own daughter’s name might cost him 
his office and means of support; but he prom¬ 
ised to give his consent within three months. 

At the close of the year I had an earnest 
talk with O Chiye san about life and its work. 
She and her father were pleased with the propo¬ 
sition made that she should teach the younger 
girls their translations, and she took classes 
after the school began in January. The man¬ 
uscript copy of the Epistle to the Romans was 
sent me the first of the year, and Deguchi san 
copied it carefully. 

The first Sabbath of this year (1875) was 
a beautiful one. Some of the girls offered 
prayers in the little meeting before church, 
which at least showed their earnestness in 
wishing for a blessing. Deguchi san brought 
several people to church. Two young men 
were baptized. The services were long, but 
no one seemed wearied. Every morning of 
the “week of prayer” found a number of na¬ 
tive Christians and those who were interest¬ 
ed in religion at the church, and the meetings 
were all pleasant. 



236 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

That week Deguchi san went to see our 
little O Kame san, and found her in trouble. 
Her brother was sick, and could no longer 
pay for her tuition and support her in school. 
Degfuchi san found her hard at work. She 
is such a bright child that we could not bear 
to give her up, and so we took her back, hop¬ 
ing that some means would be provided for 
her support. So the winter days passed on 
with their busy cares. 

The first communion-season of the year was 
on the 18th of January. O Chiye san seemed 
to feel much her separation from Christian peo¬ 
ple, and went home sad and crying. She said 
she feared nothing but the trouble which her 
baptism might bring upon the family. 

Our girls were all troubled. Deguchi san 
says that woman in Japan has her head down 
and man has his foot upon her neck. It does 
seem so. Often in those days, when I saw 
the young men of the mission-school coming 
out one after another and being baptized, and 
yet not one of our girls ready, it seemed as if 
work for woman here was a hopeless task. 
Kato san’s Michi was one who desired bap¬ 
tism, but she “waited” for her friends. 

At last, however, three of the girls decided 
to be baptized. O Shige san, after a long 
struggle, thought it best to come out boldly 


1875] Strait Gate and Narrow Way. 237 

as a Christian without her father’s permission, 
which had been angrily refused. It is exceed¬ 
ingly difficult to decide the right in these cases, 
yet here the responsibility seemed to be lifted 
away from every one. She was fully persuaded 
that she was right, and promised bravely to con¬ 
fess the truth if called upon to do so. She 
and her little sister Nui are faithful, diligent 
pupils, and have ever been comforts to their 
teachers. We dreaded losing them from our 
school, should the father in his anger take 
them away. 

Michi had nothing to fear from her father. 
The third was our little orphan girl Kame. 
She is thirteen years old and not advanced 
in her studies, although learning very fast. 
There was some hesitancy about admitting 
her into the church, as she was so young and 
had been so short a time in school. But she 
was so anxious, and answered every question 
so well, that she was baptized with the others. 
It was touching to see her carrying her Little 
Catechism about with her, that she might study 
every spare moment. 

When O Chiye san heard of the intention 
of these girls to be baptized, especially of 
O Shige san’s determination to brave her 
father’s displeasure, she seemed very thought¬ 
ful and sad. Over and over she said that she 




238 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

feared nothing that her father might do to her 
personally, but only the trouble she might bring 
on the family. Yet there was a sore conflict 
going on in her mind. One day she came 
to Ro-ku-ban to say that a new baby-girl 
had come into their family, when a messen¬ 
ger arrived from her house saying that she 
must go home immediately. She did not re¬ 
turn, and Deguchi san went over to see what 
the trouble was. It seems that she had spo¬ 
ken to her mother about her strong desire to 
be baptized, and her mother had told her 
father of it. He was exceedingly angry, and 
sent for her and forbade her coming to the 
mission-house any more. 

Deguchi san, after reporting these things at 
home, went again to beg that she might be 
allowed to see her sick teacher once more. 
Her father very reluctantly gave his consent, 
and she came with Deguchi san, crying and 
sobbing most pitifully. She promised not to 
give up her faith and trust in God. She was 
soon sent for. All these things were very 
trying, and we knew not how it would end. 
The next day she came running in, panting 
and almost breathless. Her father was out 
of the house, and her mother had given her 
permission to come for a while. 

Michi, Shige and Kame were baptized on 


1875] Strait Gate and Narrow Way. 239 

the next Sunday. Chiye was here all day, 
and was very sad. Her mother told her she 
might come, and she managed to elude her 
father’s vigilance in some way. 

The next Sunday another of the pupils, 
Mashi, and Hara san’s wife, with four others, 
were baptized. In the morning a note came 
from O Chiye san. She had fully made up 
her mind to be baptized, but that day she 
could not get out of the house, as her father 
was at home. She said that she would rather 
do the hardest work than to be so bound. “ I 
am bound by an iron chain, which is the will 
of the father,” is an expression she has used. 

She came in on Monday, after her final 
decision was made. Oh what a change! On 
Friday she was here, her face swollen with 
weeping and her whole expression one of 
such sadness that it was painful to see her; 
on Monday she came into the room, her face 
beaming with joy, and there has not been a 
tear in her eye since, I think. She said, “The 
rain has all gone. The clouds have broken 
away, and it is light.” In the afternoon she 
came again to be examined previous to bap¬ 
tism. A wild storm of wind and rain was 
raging. We gathered around the fire in the 
bedroom. Only four were present, and we 
listened to her confession of faith. The fifth 



240 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

commandment was particularly dwelt upon. 
When asked why she would go contrary to 
her father’s wishes in this respect, she said 
that she felt God’s command was higher. 
She came several times that week, and al¬ 
ways seemed strong and happy. 

The Sabbath that she was baptized was a 
cold, stormy Easter day. She stood up alone, 
and received the water of baptism on her head. 
For her many a prayer had ascended, to her 
many an anxious thought had been given, but 
that day the burden of the joyful song was— 

“ ’Tis done ! the great transaction’s done i 
I am the Lord’s, and he is mine; 

He drew me, and I followed on, 

Charmed to obey the voice divine.” 

There are now fourteen women in the church, 
and thirty-eight members in all. 

No one in her home has said anything to 
O Chiye san about her baptism. We cannot 
but think that her father is aware of it. The 
other children know it, but they are quiet, 
discreet little things, and say nothing. 

O Tama san, little Sudzu’s aunt, came one 
day, and knelt by my bedside and whispered 
her wish to be baptized. “While you were 
sick,” she said, “I first learned to pray. I 
knew not whom to ask to make you well, and 
I turned to the true God.” This woman had 


18/5] Strait Gate and Narrow Way. 241 

no opposition to fear from friends at home, 
and was soon after received into the church. 
We miss some of the girls who have long 
been with us. The past few months have 
been stormy, troubled ones, but now the sun 
is shining out brightly again, and all are at 
peace. 

What of our little O Ine san ? She is 
growing tall and developing rapidly. She 
has once or twice expressed to one of her 
friends in school, or to her mother, her desire 
to be baptized, but she does not yet seem to 
have come to the time when she feels that 
she must decide one way or the other. I tell 
her mother that I often fear she is too ambi¬ 
tious for Ine, and is crowding her mind. She 
is anxious that she shall excel in all Japanese 
accomplishments as well as go on in her for¬ 
eign studies. 

I went with her one day to the “ tea-school.” 
Presenting tea to guests and making all the 
necessary bows and complimentary phrases 
are such important things for Japanese wom¬ 
en that they are taught them as a regular 
science. The teacher has his pupils to come 
one by one. There were a number of Japan¬ 
ese present, and we all sat on the floor and 
watched the little girl as she took the tea 

from its canister and put it into the tiny 

21 Q 




242 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

tea-pot. The other things were all in a little 
drawer, and she got them out, then folded 
the napkin, fanned the charcoal, poured boil¬ 
ing water on the tea, and then presented it 
in a little cup gracefully to the spectators, 
who were supposed to be guests. All this 
was very daintily and nicely done, and we 
thought the tea-school quite interesting. 

Ko-ba-ya-shi san is one who causes me much 
anxiety. She is out of the more immediate 
sphere of our influence now, as the family 
have moved into the country, and she does 
not attend school. The whole family are ex¬ 
ceedingly kind. The father and mother are 
nice old people, but do not seem favorably 
inclined toward Christianity. “ I imagine,” says 
a missionary friend, “ they think the gate is 
very ‘ strait ’ and the way very ‘ narrow.’ ” 
They seem to enjoy much of the pleasures 
of this life, and care not for any others. 

Doubtless those who have just entered the 
“ strait gate,” and begun to walk in the “ nar¬ 
row way,” will stumble and fall sometimes, 
but their faces are turned heavenward; and 
when they rise, it will be to walk on in the 
same direction. They will wander sometimes, 
there will be many temptations to turn them 
aside, and there are many false teachers who 
will try to lead them astray. 


1875] Strait Gate and Narrow Way. 243 

Our girls are learning the tenth chapter of 
John’s Gospel. In their own soft, musical 
language they repeat the words, “ He calleth 
his own sheep by name and leadeth them out; 
and the sheep follow him, for they know his 
voice. And a stranger they will not follow, 
for they know not the voice of a stranger.” 

Yes, the sheep know the true Shepherd’s 
voice. False teachers are all around, but we 
fear not the voice of strangers for our flock, 
for they know them not. They will not wander 
long nor far from the shining road along which 
the Shepherd is leading them, nor go back 
into the dark mazes of Buddhism, Sintooism 
or Confucianism, for they have heard the 
Lord’s voice and are following him. 

“ And I give unto them eternal life, and they 
shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck 
them out of my hand.” It is in this word that 
we rest without fear or doubt. 

O Chiye san has had more to contend with 
than the others, so far. Soon after her bap¬ 
tism, she was taken away to Yikosuka, much 
against her desire. But her aunt came back 
with her, brought her to our house, and per¬ 
suaded her father to let her come to school 
again. This aunt has great influence over 
her brother, O Chiye san’s father, and is a 
woman of bright intellect. Soon after, without 




244 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

any difficulty, we gained the father’s consent 
to have her come into the house as a teacher- 
pupil, supporting herself in this way. 

And now indeed the clouds have all gone, 
and our school closed very happily for the 
summer vacation. Most of the older girls 
are members of the church, and the little 
ones believe with childish faith. 

On these summer Sabbaths the house is 
open all day and filled with Japanese, who 
come to attend service or to talk about our 
religion. Friends of the girls come, dressed 
neatly and prettily, to go to the church and 
Sabbath-school. The Sabbaths are happy days 
here, and every one is so glad to go to church. 
The windows and doors are all open, and the' 
pleasant breeze comes in from the sea. Twice 
a day the people go from the mission-house 
to the church. At noon the girls have their 
prayer-meeting. The hymns—Japanese words 
set to our own familiar tunes—fill the house 
with music, and it is no uncommon thing to 
hear the low murmur of prayer. 

In June our funny little Toyo of long ago 
came back to us; she has the same quick, 
nervous manner as of old, and always makes 
her presence felt. 

Last evening the closing exercises of the 
school were held in the church. The house 


1875] Strait Gate and Narrow Way. 245 

was filled. Fathers, mothers and friends came 
to see and hear the girls, who sang English 
hymns, and some of the older ones played 
on the organ. They had recitations and read¬ 
ings and dialogues, and the little ones went 
through with their exercises in calisthenics. 
All passed off very successfully, and both 
natives and foreigners expressed themselves 
as highly pleased with the appearance and ef¬ 
forts of the school. 

So another school-year has closed brightly 
and hopefully. It has given us great encour¬ 
agement to go forward, and “woman’s work 
for woman” here is an established fact. We 
look for still more hopeful results, when many 
more shall seek the “ strait gate ” and enter 
upon the “ narrow way.” 

21 * 





CHAPTER IV. 


A JIN-RI-KI-SHA JOURNEY. 


“ Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have 
I given you.” 


E have been traveling in jin-ri-ki-shas 



V V down the Tokaido, from Tokio, the 
eastern capital, to Saikiyo, or Kiyoto, the west¬ 
ern capital. To do this we had to obtain pass¬ 
ports from the government, as it is death to 
foreigners to go beyond certain bounds with¬ 
out permission. Through the kindness of 
the American resident minister, these pass¬ 
ports were obtained without difficulty, and 
proved an effectual protection to us all 
through our journey. The road from Tokio 
to the foot of the Ha-ko-ne Mountains has 
been described in a previous chapter, and 
we need not go over that already familiar 


route. 


It took us fifteen days to make the journey 
of three hundred miles, including all stoppages 
for rest and the Sabbath. Since we left Mishi- 
ma, at the foot of the Ha-ko-nes, we have had 
the same jin-ri-ki-sha men, who have on an 


246 


1875] A Jin-ri-ki-sha Journey. 247 

average traveled thirty miles a day, stopping 
to rest once in the morning, then at noon, 
and once again in the afternoon and at night. 
These men were exceedingly anxious to go 
all the way to Kiyoto, and kept up their 
strength very well, although we should have 
preferred obtaining fresh men at different sta¬ 
tions. 

Day after day we followed the road, scarce¬ 
ly turning to the right or the left. It has led 
us over hot, sandy highways, across three 
mountain-chains, through pleasant valleys and 
under grand old trees. We have crossed 
rivers on flat-boats. Twice have we sailed 
over an arm of the sea. We have walked, 
or been carried in ka-gos, over the mountains, 
enjoying the fresh mountain-air and the beau¬ 
tiful scenery. In these mountains, we are 
told, there are treasures of gold, silver, cop¬ 
per, lead, quicksilver and coal. We saw car- 
nelians, agates, jasper and crystals. We pass¬ 
ed by fields of tobacco, rice and cotton. Some 
parts of the country seemed to produce but few 
vegetables. The sa-to-i-mo (Japanese “sugar- 
potato ”) was abundant. Rice and eggs were 
usually found, but sometimes even eggs were 
scarce. We were generally dependent on 
our own supply of provisions. 

The road led us through a number of large 




248 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

towns. They are very similar to each other 
and to Tokio, and the houses in Japan are so 
much alike that every evening, in going into 
our new hotel, it seemed as if we were enter¬ 
ing the very one we had been in the night 
before; the rooms and the gardens, the ser¬ 
vants, the candlesticks, dishes and washbasins, 
-—all seemed the very same. 

Some places, however, deserve special men¬ 
tion, and first I must tell of the river Fu-ji. 
Fu-ji-ya-ma was all covered by mists and clouds 
when we passed him, and we went directly 
on to Fu-ji-ka-wa, or the river Fu-ji, which 
runs near the base of the mountain. Before 
reaching it we crossed a singular spot to 
find in this “garden of the world.” It seem¬ 
ed to have been the ancient channel of Fu-ji- 
ka-wa, and was wild and desolate in the 
extreme. The river at times overflows its 
banks to the extent of a mile and a half 
with a rushing torrent, as indicated by the 
efforts of the natives to protect the embank¬ 
ments by means of huge cobble-stones en¬ 
closed in strong bamboo network. Even 
then, although comparatively small, the river 
rushed over its rocky bed with so swift a 
current that we almost feared to cross it. It 
seemed as though the rowers could scarcely 
stem the rapid current, but we soon found 


1875] A Jin-ri-ki-sha Journey. 249 

that, like the Japanese in general, the men 
were good boatmen, and we were rowed 
across in safety. 

Shidzuoka .—Our noon rest one day was at 
Shidzuoka, the capital of the province of Su- 
ruga. There the old tycoon, Stotsu Bashi, re¬ 
sides. After his defeat in 1868, instead of be¬ 
ing put to death or commanded to commit 
hara-kiri, as was the usual way in old times, 
he was allowed to go into retirement on his 
own estate, where he now lives in honorable 
exile. 

In the government school at Shidzuoka a 
Christian gentleman is engaged in teaching. 
He gave an interesting account of religious 
matters there. Twenty-nine persons had been 
baptized. 

Yoshida .—This was the only town where we 
had trouble in finding a place to sleep. With 
the shadows growing deeper and deeper about 
us, we tried one hotel after another. The jin- 
ri-ki-sha men were wearied with their day’s 
travel, and were sorely in need of rest. Fi¬ 
nally, an appeal was made at the police-station. 
A crowd gathered around the jin-ri-ki-shas. A 
courteous policeman accompanied us on the 
search for a lodging-place, but even his en¬ 
treaties were of no avail. 

At last some people offered the use of a 




250 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

kura (a fire-proof house). There were no win¬ 
dows, and only two holes in the wall to admit 
the air. In these close, heated quarters the 
night was passed. The policeman was very 
polite, and came in the morning with many 
apologies for the people of the town. He 
said “ ’ O ki-no do ku sama ” many times (“ Poi¬ 
son to your soul ”), and bowed very low as 
the coolies picked up the jin-ri-ki-sha shafts 
and trotted off. 

Nagoya .—Reaching this city on Saturday 
morning, we concluded to spend the Sabbath 
here. The entrance to the hotel was dark 
and forbidding, but the upper rooms, which 
were allotted to us, were airy and cheerful. 
From one room there was a view of a wide 
street and the entrance to a temple. Dinner 
was served on one of the small tables; the 
usual tea and rice were brought, with water¬ 
melons for dessert. 

Nagoya is a large, important city. Here 
is one of the Eigo-gakkos , or “English 
schools.” The buildings are very fine. Here, 
too, is a castle, where a prince once lived who 
just missed a chance of becoming a tycoon. 
The ya-shi-kis which are passed on the way to 
the castle were all closed, with the exception 
of two. The ponderous gates looked as if 
they had not been moved on their hinges for 


1875] A Jin-ri-ki-sha Journey. 251 

many a day. After passing a grove we came 
to a wide road; here the scene was very pretty. 
In the moat around the castle lotus-flowers 
were blooming. The castle was more like 
a real one than any we had hitherto seen. It 
had a high wall flanked with towers. 

There are many temples in Nagoya; among 
them, the Atsuka temples, near the city, are 
famous. The streets of the city were wide 
and clean, and the articles exhibited in the 
shops were quite tempting. Always, when 
we stopped to look at anything, a crowd col¬ 
lected, rendering it unpleasant; and when we 
walked in the temple-grounds, men, women 
and children followed us. 

The people at the hotel gave us nice white- 
fish for supper. The maids brought in the 
beds, which were comfortable enough, but the 
noise of some travelers in a lower room, who 
seemed to be having a particularly merry time, 
kept us from sleeping. 

Early Sabbath morning we were aroused 
by the bell ringing and the drum beating in 
the temple. The worshipers, a large crowd, 
came pouring through the gates. The hotel- 
people said they had been to hear a sermon. 
The day passed quietly. The people talked 
a little with us, and the children seemed glad 
to see the foreign ladies, and to get some 


[1875 


252 The Sunrise Kingdom. 

papers from them, and to be told about the 
pictures. 

The hotel-people said they would be lonely 
when we left them. They gathered at the 
entrance as we were starting in the morning 
to say “ Saionara,” and the landlord waited at 
the street-corner and bowed low as we passed. 

Kame yama .—This is a pretty little town, 
and as the jin-ri-ki-shas rolled rapidly through 
the streets the crowd following kept increasing. 
Children ran after us, laughing and shouting; 
the babies’ heads rolled from side to side; 
and when the coolies stopped at a hotel, the 
group presented a singular appearance. From 
the upper window of our hotel that night we 
could see the castle and look over a beautiful 
wooded country. 

In the morning the road led us again over 
mountains, the views of which were glorious. 
Over one mountain a man was leading some 
goats. The people did not know what these 
animals were. 

A town near Lake Biwa was our resting- 
place for the night. Over a bridge across one 
end of the lake Biwa, which is the largest 
lake in Japan, the men drew the jin-ri-ki-shas 
the next morning. 

The rain began to come down, and umbrel¬ 
las and oiled paper had to be taken out for the 


1875] A Jin-ri-ki-sha Journey . 253 

first time. But it did not rain long. The road 
was all up hill and very bad. At many places 
the jin-ri-ki-shas had to be lifted over. One 
thing which seemed peculiar as we entered 
Kiyoto was the number of oxen employed 
as beasts of burden. A bamboo-grove made 
the road near the city very pleasant. 

Will this land ever be thrown open to for¬ 
eigners ? No one can tell, but we hope that 
some day this may be accomplished. One 
thing is a source of comfort to the Christian: 
we can never be out of our Father’s kingdom. 
The Japanese may set their boundaries as 
they please; we may wander or be in exile 
anywhere: our feet are in our Father’s terri¬ 
tory, and we are ever at home. And the land 
is ours, for the Lord has promised it to his 
Son, and in him we possess all things. Thus 
we believe that this fair “ Land of the Rising 
Sun ” will be covered with the brightness of 
the Saviour’s glory. 

22 



CHAPTER V. 


THE TWO CAPITALS IN 1873. 

“ Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth.” 

1 / HE Western Capital.—August 7 , 1875 .— 
^ Kiyoto, or Saikiyo, as the people here 
best like to have it called, is the great religious 
centre of Japan. It was formerly the residence 
of the spiritual emperor, or Mikado. It is very 
different from the city where we dwell. i\ccus- 
tomed to the breezes of open plain and sea, we 
feel oppressed here by the close surround¬ 
ing mountains. Yet it is in many respects a 
far more imposing city than Tokio. Its tem¬ 
ples are larger and grander, its pagodas more 
numerous, its streets wider, and its manufac¬ 
tures more extensive and various. There is 
a preponderance of dark red in the color of 
the houses and temples. 

The great temple Choin is a wonderful build¬ 
ing. Everything is on a gigantic scale. The 
high place (. Kiyomidzu ), from which there is 
a fine view of the city, is very beautiful with 
its dense shrubbery and pleasant tea-houses. 
At one temple we saw an immense bell, said 

254 


1875 ] The Two Capitals in 1875. 255 

to be one of the largest in the world; it is 
broken now. Here also was a large image of 
Buddha. 

But the most wonderful thing we have seen 
in Kiyoto is the temple where Buddha is seated, 
with his warriors standing around him. In the 
centre of a long, narrow room is the large 
gilded image, and on either side of it are five 
hundred statues of life size, richly gilded, each 
having three heads and six hands, and all bear¬ 
ing the same gentle, sweet expression which 
generally characterizes the image of Buddha. 
It seems as if this were significant of the mer¬ 
ciful feature of Buddhism in regard to animal 
life. We have already noticed the Japanese 
tenderness toward flies and insects, to kill one 
of which wantonly or unnecessarily would pro¬ 
voke the anger of their gods. It forms a part 
of their devotions to release insects from cap¬ 
tivity, and in the temple-grounds are venders 
of insects for that purpose. We saw beetles 
sold for pieces of cash to such devotees, who 
doubtless in their prayers asked Buddha to 
remember their kindness and gentleness. 

As a strange commentary, however, on this 
merciful disposition, it appeared to us as if 
they would not be loth to slaughter one of 
us, their white brethren, the hated foreigners, 
even though they turned aside from the crawl- 


256 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

mg worm or gave glad freedom to an impris¬ 
oned insect. Their creed has been so learned 
that animal food never crosses their lips, be¬ 
cause life has to be taken, and yet, with bitter 
ferocity, they have made their swords to drip 
with the hearts 7 blood of Christians, and might 
be ready to do the same now if the power of 
the government were only relaxed. To love 
insects and worms and yet hate a fellow-man 
is certainly remarkable inconsistency, and pre¬ 
sents a wonderful contrast to that religion 
whose foundation-principle is love—even love 
for enemies. 

Still, as we stood before that image of 
Buddha attended by his thousand golden-clad 
warriors, with the light of the declining sun 
reflected in their almost angelic countenances, 
we could not help feeling sentiments of awe 
and veneration; and though Buddhism has 
many a dark aspect, we came away deeply 
impressed with the benignity stamped on these 
beautiful statues, and with something of respect 
for the faith whose expression they are. A 
creed is not always to be judged by the life 
of its professed adherents. Christianity itself, 
the essence of divine holiness and love, has 
often been brought into disrepute by the in¬ 
consistent lives of its professors; and so 
charity would teach us that even Confucius 


1875 ] The Two Capitals in 1875. 257 

and Buddha are grossly misrepresented by 
their followers, since he may profess to be 
the upholder of gentleness and mercy who 
yet would not forbear to take the life of his 
fellow-man. With these reflections we emerged 
from this temple of Buddha and his thousand 
warriors to visit other scenes in this interest¬ 
ing capital of the West. 

A great temple in the suburbs of the city was 
attractive on account of its bamboo-groves. 
From a point higher than Kiyo-midzu we had 
a grand view of Kiyoto one evening just as 
the sun was setting and throwing long rays 
of golden light over city and mountains. We 
looked across the roofs of the houses, down 
over the temples and pagodas to where the 
hills on every side shut off the surrounding 
country from our view. 

They tell us of the great mountain Haizen, 
in the neighborhood of Kiyoto, where the 
scenes are wondrously fair and the temples 
interesting from their great antiquity; also 
that in the suburbs of the city are many pleas¬ 
ant spots. But our investigations have been 
confined principally to the city itself. We 
have watched men painting porcelain and 
manufacturing the cups and plates which 
are so celebrated as “ Kiyoto-ware.” We 
have examined the fans, vases and children’s 

22 * R 


[ i 875 


258 The Sunrise Kingdom. 

toys made here in such variety and rich abun¬ 
dance. 

Theatre .—Yesterday we went to the Japan¬ 
ese theatre, and were fortunate enough to see 
the performance of one complete play, a short 
tragedy. And we may properly notice just here 
the Japanese theatre as it appears through¬ 
out the empire. We have looked into the 
theatre at Tokio for a few minutes, and we 
saw this one play at Kiyoto, from which, and 
from all we have heard about it, we presume 
that one is the type of all. The performances 
commence early in the morning, continue 
through the day with scarcely an interruption, 
and close at sundown. Theatres are never 
open at night. The buildings are wooden, 
barn-like structures, without gilding or orna¬ 
ment save the usual lanterns, colored papers 
and painted Chinese characters. This thea¬ 
tre at Kiyoto had no galleries, but simply 
a sloping parquette a little higher in the rear 
than in the front. The audience was constant¬ 
ly changing, some coming in and some going 
out, while the performance was going on, and 
boys went around selling sweetmeats and 
fruits. 

As in the Roscian period, only male actors 
were on the stage. The chief performers— 
doubtless the “ stars ”—came in from the front 


l8 75] The Two Capitals in 1875 . 259 

of the house, and walked on a narrow plat¬ 
form the whole length to the stage, spouting 
and stalking with majestic tread, all in such 
stilted style as to be irresistibly comical, 
although the play was a tragedy and this lofty 
prologue was to tell of the hero’s dire wrongs 
and how he was to suffer till Justice had 
wrought her work. The dresses of these 
actors were more like those represented on 
vases and in pictures than those of ordinary 
every-day life, being robes of gorgeous hue, 
well bespangled and with ample folds. 

The play was the usual one of a tyrant 
usurper, who prospered for a while in his 
cruel oppressions, but whose evil designs were 
finally frustrated and the proper heir was re¬ 
stored. The tyrant died by his own hand. He 
first committed hari-kari, and then cut his own 
head off. We saw his head falling into a bas¬ 
ket. The Japanese are masters of jugglery. 

The orchestra was peculiarly Japanese, and 
most distressing to our ears. It consisted of 
fife and drum and a kind of flute; but the 
chief effect was that produced by the pound¬ 
ing of mallets on blocks of wood without 
regard to melody or tune—at least, so it 
seemed to us—and we could well dispense 
with this accessory to the stage. Still, a vigor¬ 
ous blow may properly accompany the tale of 


260 The Sunrise Kingdom . [1875 

a tyrant’s acts, and doubtless, to the Japanese 
ear, there was more of harmony than appeared 
to our untutored and unappreciative taste. 
For the play we saw was certainly operatic, 
and this thumping music was evidently intend¬ 
ed to give effect to the sentiments expressed 
by the actors. The natives relished it, if we 
did not. When anything peculiarly striking 
was expressed by an actor, it was accompa¬ 
nied by a corresponding crash from the orches¬ 
tra and a hissing kind of applause from the 
spectators. 

We saw nothing immoral, or even objection¬ 
able, in the play, the audience or any of the 
surroundings. And thus we may pronounce 
the theatre in a heathen land as immeasurably 
superior to that in our Christian country. The 
adjuncts of a theatre are generally its worst 
and most injurious features. The bar-room, 
the questionable company, the mawkish and 
often false representations of life on the stage 
itself, and all the dissipating tendencies of the 
surroundings in our theatres, have brought 
many a youth to ruin. We may have a pure 
and classical stage, but there will have to be 
great changes also in the theatre. None of 
these adjuncts mentioned are found in this 
heathen theatre. 

The jin-ri-ki-shas of Kiyoto are larger and 


TQKIQ WQMAN. KIOTO WOMAN. Page 261. 






































































1875 ] The Two Capitals in 1875. 261 

handsomer than those of Tokio. The peo¬ 
ple look about the same, except that the 
women let their sashes hang loosely behind 
instead of looping them up, as in Tokio. The 
dialect is a little different, but not enough so 
to trouble us much. 

The Eastern Capital. — Monday , Sept. 6, 1875. 
—We are glad to be at home again. This has 
been a very lovely day, and Kadzusa’s moun¬ 
tains, across the bay, look very tempting. 

The mission-house is full of life, for school 
began last Wednesday. In the morning the 
day-scholars come over the fields, bright and 
happy, to begin the work of the day. There 
is usually a line of children waiting on the 
stairs, with bright faces peeping over the 
banisters. 

The two weeks which intervened between 
the homecoming and the beginning of school 
passed away rapidly. Almost every afternoon, 
when the heat of the day was over, jin-ri-ki- 
shas were called for, and we made a little jour¬ 
ney into the city and visited a number of the 
scholars at their homes. 

The Tokio of to-day is very different from the 
Yedo of old. It is a great city, and contains 
much that is interesting. The State govern¬ 
ment is all divided into departments, or shins. 
There is the finance department, the naval, the 


262 The Sunrise Kingdom . [187s 

military, the agricultural, the religious, the 
engineering, mining, etc., etc. All, or almost 
all, of these have their headquarters in Tokio. 
Although some of these departments are lo¬ 
cated in old temples, yet many of the build¬ 
ings are of foreign style, and foreigners are 
employed largely in them. A new building 
for the Kai sei gakko, or government school, 
has been erected, and one for the normal 
school for girls is now going up. 

The police-force of the city is large and 
effective. The post-office department is finely 
organized, and letters are faithfully delivered 
at the door. The streets are named and the 
houses numbered. 

The Ginza differs materially from the old 
To-ri. The stores are built in European style 
and filled with foreign articles, as well as with 
everything that a Japanese can want. All 
over the city, indeed, foreign vegetables and 
fruits of all kinds may be found. Butchers 
and bakers are numerous, and bread and meat 
are no longer scarce, as they were a few years 
ago. Milk is sold at tolerably reasonable rates, 
and ice can be procured in any quantity on 
the Ginza. 

Coaches and jin-ri-ki-shas roll along the 
streets. Many of the men wear foreign 
clothes. No two-sworded men are seen any 


1875] The Two Capitals in 1875 . 263 

longer, and the Mikado goes about among 
the people, not fearing to show his face. 
And one of the most remarkable things to 
be noticed is the utter absence of tramps and 
beggars. Beggary was once a system, but 
now it has been abolished, and the beggars 
have been put to work. Many have been 
sent to Yeso, and others are employed in the 
factories. 

Missionaries of different countries and socie¬ 
ties have their homes here. Some are allowed 
to live outside the Concession by accepting 
a position as teachers under the care of a 
Japanese, and these missionaries and teach¬ 
ers are permitted to hold meetings in their 
own houses. 

The Japanese women are not all the painted, 
soulless dolls of old Japan; there are now 
among them some educated, intelligent women. 
As fathers see their daughters learning and 
becoming good, wise women; as the educated 
young men seek wives among the girls who 
have been taught in the schools, and intelligent 
women have the care and training of children, 
and boys no longer despise their mothers, and 
husbands learn to trust their wives—the family 
relations will all be changed, and the power of 
pure womanhood will be felt in the land. 

It is pleasant sometimes to take a mere 


264 


The Sunrise Kingdom . 


[1875 


surface-glance—to go to the little houses when 
the slides are drawn back in the late summer 
afternoons, and the little glass ornaments are 
tinkling musically, and the wind is gently stir¬ 
ring the flowers of the little garden, and to 
look at the pretty pictures of Japanese life 
which are unconsciously shown to us. 

Thus we have been visiting the scholars in 
their homes, into many of which the teachers 
were warmly welcomed. We sat on the mats, 
drank tea, and talked about the school and 
the church, and how the little ones were learn¬ 
ing. At one house we were treated with great 
ceremony. We were conducted into the best 
room of the large house, and all the family 
gathered in. They told us that the children 
were anxious to begin school again, and when 
we went away they loaded us with fruit. 

All this is real, unaffected kindness on their 
part, but the making our visit a thing of so 
much ceremony prevents us from going to 
visit them in a friendly, social way as often 
as we should like. Such overwhelming atten¬ 
tions are irksome to us, and must be burden¬ 
some to them. And when this practice is 
carried to such an extent as it is in this 
country, it must interfere with informal neigh¬ 
borly visiting. 

O Sen san’s father is Deguchi san’s brother. 


1875] The Two Capitals in 1875 . 265 

He is an officer, and lives near the Ginza, in 
a foreign house. When we went to see the 
family, the room where we were entertained 
had doors and windows, a carpet, tables and 
chairs. He entertained us so well and kept 
us so long that the greater part of an hour 
was spent there in looking at books and 
photographs, and in talking about Japan and 
America. 

One lovely summer day we went to see 
O Shige san. Her father has a beautiful home 
in the suburbs. We pass the high place Kudan 
to get to it. The light wooden house, with the 
slides all drawn back to admit the air, look¬ 
ed very charming, embowered in the green 
shrubbery. They have a fine garden, which 
the master of the house showed with much 
pride, while he told of contemplated improve¬ 
ments. He has five daughters, of whom 
Shige is the eldest. The third one, Fu-sa, 
is a fine-looking child. There is a little new 
baby, a grandmother and the young-looking, 
gentle mother. The children in the garden 
and the neat, clean house made a pretty pic¬ 
ture, and we lingered there until warned by 
the gathering darkness that it was time to 
go home. 

In brief description we have had before us 

the two great capitals of Japan, the Western 

23 


266 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[187s 


still submerged in complete heathenism and 
entirely unaffected by foreign influence, while 
the other has already undergone great changes 
from the introduction of foreign science, and 
also, in some measure, from the influence of 
the gospel of our Lord. And enough is mani¬ 
fest to assure us of the future blessed results 
of that gospel, and to inspire a hope that 
this same glorious truth may soon rise upon 
Kiyoto’s temples and pagodas, until one wave 
of light may illumine the whole land, from 
Tokio to the Western capital,.down to Naga¬ 
saki in the southern extremity, and that the 
light of the knowledge of God may penetrate 
into every heart. 



CHAPTER VI. 


«THE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED 
TO THEMP 


“ I love to tell the story : 

’Tis pleasant to repeat 
What seems, each time I tell it, 
More wonderfully sweet. 

I love to tell the story, 

For some have never heard 
The message of salvation 

From God’s own holy word.” 


E have long waited for the time to come 



V V when we might go among the poor 
and lowly and speak to the people. A pecu¬ 
liar phase of missionary-life in Japan is that 
we began our work among the upper classes 
and only gradually came to the lower, while in 
most mission-fields labor is chiefly confined to 
the poor. The unoccupied Samurai, looking 
about for something to do or some means of 
support, came to us for instruction, and to the 
merchant class we easily gained access, but 
until now we have been unable to work free¬ 
ly among the lower classes. 

The poor people are ignorant and timid, 
and therefore superstitious and more under 


267 


268 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

the power of the priests. How often, when 
reading the New Testament in school, have 
we been struck with the frequent recurrence 
of the words, “ The chief priests and the 
elders ”! “ Who were Christ’s most bitter 

enemies when on earth?” I asked a Japanese 
girl one day. “ The priests,” she answered. 
“ And who now are the most bitter opponents 
of Christianity in this land ?” “ The priests,” 

was the quick reply. It is even so: the false 
teachers hate the truth. But now a door is 
open to the poor, and we can go to them. 
Blessed, happy work we find it. 

Deguchi san is regularly employed as a 
Bible-reader. She is the first one among the 
women of Tokio, and is an invaluable assistant. 
She has a wonderful gift in speaking to chil¬ 
dren. Not long ago a jin-ri-ki-sha man was 
baptized with his old mother, Hisa. This old 
woman is also employed as an assistant in the 
missionary-work, and since August we have 
been holding meetings at her house on Thurs¬ 
day of every week. The house is in a narrow 
street ( Gen-ske-cho ) on the way to Shi-ba. She 
gathers in the neighboring women and chil¬ 
dren, and we read the Scriptures and sing. 
All enjoy “ Jesu ware no aisu” (“Jesus loves 
me”), and the children like to sing it every 
time we meet. We have been reading the 


i8 75] The Gospel Preached. 269 

Gospel of Matthew through, in course, at 
these meetings. The women listen eagerly. 
How I wish some at home who are interested 
in our work here could look in upon us at 
Gen-ske-cho! We all sit on the floor. Old 
Hisa has the charcoal in the hi-ba-chis bright 
and glowing these cold winter days. Those 
who have books open them and read, then 
listen while others are reading. 

The people are usually very quiet and order¬ 
ly, but sometimes old Hisa disturbs us a little 
by distributing cups of tea in the midst of the 
talking, or some one knocks down a screen or 
slide. Japanese houses are exceedingly frail 
structures, and it is rather dangerous for a 
paper screen or slide to fall into a hi-ba-chi. 
But old Hisa is learning not to present tea 
until the lesson is over, and foreigners are be¬ 
coming more accustomed to the slides. 

One of the most interesting features of our 
work this winter has been the teaching - of the 

o 

gospel to the blind a-mas. One or two heard 
the word and told the joyful news to others, 
and a deep interest was awakened in their 
hearts. Old Hisa takes her copies of the 
Gospels and teaches them. They repeat the 
words after her, and thus learn large portions 
of the Scriptures. There are always some of 
them at our meetings in Gen-ske-cho. Some 

23 * 


270 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

of them begged one afternoon that a meeting 
expressly for them might be held the next 
Saturday, and when the petition was granted 
one clapped his hands for joy. 

So, on Saturday, Hisa and I went. An 
upper room, to which we climbed by a steep, 
narrow stairway, was filled with blind men. 
The sunshine poured in, but all was darkness 
to them. Yet one has said, “I am glad I am 
blind; for if I had seen, I might not have cared 
for God.” They wanted to sing, and all knew 
“Jesus loves me.” We sang that and “Joy¬ 
fully, joyfully,” repeating each line many times, 
so that they would remember it. They learned 
also a little prayer, and all were very happy. 

In earth’s sweetest music there is often some¬ 
thing that strikes painfully, a discord some¬ 
where—not in the music itself, perhaps, but 
in our hearts or in the misery and suffering 
around us. But to those whose ears are opened 
to the sound of heavenly harmonies, blind men, 
sineine even in harsh, discordant voices, make 
sweeter music than any which earth’s grandest 
composer ever conceived. It is the beginning 
of the “ new song ”—the song which we can 
always hear as we listen to these untutored, 
often unpleasant, voices singing the praises 
of our King. 

It is not at Gen-ske-cho only that the poor 


1875] The Gospel Preached. 271 

have the gospel preached to them. There 
are preaching-places in various parts of the 
city, where many gather in. 

But before this year closes I must go back 
to our home-school and take careful note of 
what we are doing at Ro-ku-ban. Our faith¬ 
ful servant, Umekichi, left our house to go 
into a book-store. Two girls who wanted to 
study, but could not afford to pay their tui¬ 
tion, were taken in his stead. Their names 
were Hana and Shidzu. They soon learned 
the light duties required of them, and made 
good progress in their studies. But they did 
not remain in school very long. O Shidzu 
san was sent for one evening: her mother 
was sick. She stayed away a little while, and 
came back, but was soon sent for a second 
time. At last Deguchi san said she was going 
to be married, and brought another girl, Iseki 
Mitsuye, in her place. Then O Hana san’s 
mother came and said that her daughter’s 
uncle was insane, and they wanted her to 
come and take care of him. So another one, 
Rin, came in her place. But O Shidzu san 
was not married very soon, nor did O Hana 
san go to take care of her crazy uncle. 

Another girl, O Moto san, from the north¬ 
ern provinces, came to school. She was an 
interesting pupil, and talked about going back 


272 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

to her country and taking the Bible to her 
people. Then she stopped coming, and sent 
word that her grandmother was sick. But the 
old lady was only yakamashi —noisy and trou¬ 
blesome at home. She objected so seriously to 
the girl’s going to the school that the family 
had no peace, and so O Moto san had to give 
up her studies. 

All these things are very trying, but we 
meet such constantly in our dealings with this 
people. We can all echo the prayer of one 
of our missionaries, offered at a late prayer¬ 
meeting : “ Cleanse this people from the great 
national sin of hypocrisy.” Oh, if they would 
only speak the truth! 

We have been through many scenes of suf¬ 
fering and distress this fall. The first sick one 
to whom we were called was O Kame san’s 
brother. For days he lay on his pallet, bloated 
with dropsy and scarcely able to speak. Once 
we thought him dying. The Japanese doctor 
said that he could not live through the day. 
O Kame san was very much distressed. “ He 
does not believe; he cannot be saved,” she 
said. But the missionary doctor came in, and 
under his care the patient has been recovering. 

Other cases of sickness occurred. O Chiye 
san’s mother has suffered much and long. 
One day I sat down beside her and said. 


1875] The Gospel Preached. 273 

“Where do you go in your sickness and 
trouble? You have many gods, but to which 
do you pray now?”—“Alas!” she said, using 
the expressive Japanese dogu , “there are many, 
but I know not to which to go.” 

Then O Shige san, who always seemed so 
strong and well, was prostrated by serious lung- 
disease, and has been ill all the winter, although 
remaining at Ro-ku-ban to have the care of the 
foreign physician. So we have had a sick one 
in our own home. It has taught the other 
girls to be quiet and tender, thoughtful and 
prayerful. They are very kind to each, other, 
and want to do what is right. 

We have been uneasy about O Shige san, 
but have spoken often of her fitness to go, 
should the Lord call her home. She is very 
patient. One day she said, “I have had such 
a happy dream! I thought I was in church 
again with all the girls.” Often since she 
has been better I have seen her with the Bible 
in her hands, and have gone to her with Philip’s 
question : “ Understandest thou what thou read- 
est ?” and have stopped to explain those things 
which were puzzling to her. This is a time of 
unusually severe illness and depression. Thus 
it often is in our journey to our heavenly home. 
We walk through scenes of suffering, and, like 
our Saviour, become “acquainted with grief.” 

s 


274 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

It is astonishing with what tenacity the Jap¬ 
anese cling to life. The foreign physicians 
say that they do not suffer in surgical opera¬ 
tions as we do: their nervous system is not 
so sensitive. A wound heals more quickly 
in a Japanese than in a foreigner—whether 
owing to their more simple way of living or 
not, we cannot say. 

Eye- and skin-diseases are the ones which 
physicians are mostly called upon to treat. 
Consumption is common. Small-pox formerly 
raged as a fearful scourge, but now the peo¬ 
ple are required to be vaccinated, and meas¬ 
ures are taken to prevent its spread. One 
peculiar disease is the kake, which makes its 
appearance in the lower limbs generally, caus¬ 
ing much suffering, and often death. It is not 
yet well understood by foreign physicians, but 
is supposed to be a sort of granulation of 
the nervous marrow. 

The school has been large and well attended 
this session. There has not been the constant 
change of pupils to contend with, as before. 
The most advanced class in Japanese have a 
scientific book to read, and the younger chil¬ 
dren have the Second Reader of the normal 
school. In English the older girls are read¬ 
ing physical geography and first lessons in 
rhetoric, besides spelling, etc. The second 


1875] The Gospel Preached. 275 

class have studied the Universal History , with 
spelling, reading and geography. The third 
class have had the Second Reader , Table-Book 
and Elementary Geography , and the little chil¬ 
dren are in the Primer. 

From morning until night the mission-house 
is filled with Japanese. First they meet in 
the school for worship, reading a few verses, 
singing Christian hymns and uniting in prayer. 
Then the lessons of the day go on until noon. 
After the noon rest the whole school assembles 
for the Bible lesson and the calling of the roll. 
Next come the Japanese, Chinese and trans¬ 
lation lessons. And so the busy, happy days 
go on. 

Christmas .—Before Christmas the Japanese 
ornamented the church beautifully with long 
wreaths of evergreen, oranges and flowers, 
and had a tree filled with Japanese toys. In 
connection with the Christmas festival was 
the Sunday-school anniversary, and the classes 
had banners and designs. Each scholar of 
every class had an appropriate verse. It was 
pleasant to see the classes coming in with 
their banners, singing as they took their places. 
We feel that the Sunday-school army is gather¬ 
ing here in Japan. May all these youthful 
soldiers fight the battle well! 

Dec. 31 st .—The last night of the old year 


276 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1875 

has come. It has been a year of great pro¬ 
gress in the mission-work. To-night, as its 
scenes come up before us, and we remember 
the many missionaries who are laboring in 
Japan, the many churches and preaching-places 
in this and the other open ports, the multitudes 
who hear the preached word and the numbers 
who have received the baptismal water on their 
heads in the name of the Father, the Son and 
the Holy Ghost,—memory takes us back to 
a bright October Sabbath of seven years ago, 
when in all the region round about Tokio 
there were only three Christians, and those 
foreigners. 

From more than one mission-house, in the 
mornings and evenings, prayers and hymns 
of praise now ascend. Women and girls in 
all parts of Tokio, Yokohama, Kobe, Osaca, 
and even lately in Kiyoto, are being taught 
not only secular knowledge, but without hin¬ 
drance are being trained for the service of 
God. 

All this, and more, we have seen, and again 
memory goes back to the time when O Hama 
san came to read the First Reader , and when 
with a few girls we read and talked of the 
story of the “ loaves and fishes.” Much has 
been done, and hath not God wrought it all ? 
And that which is brightest of all is that of 


1875] The Gospel Preached. 277 

late it may be said, “ The poor have the gospel 
preached unto them.” The blind men (a-mas) 
are receiving spiritual sight, and the coolies are 
beginning to recognize in Christ the Friend 
of the lowliest. What a glorious thing for 
the poor is the gospel of Jesus! 

24 



CHAPTER VII. 


COMING INTO THE KINGDOM. 

“ With his blood the Lord hath bought them, 

When they knew him not he sought them, 

And from all their wanderings brought them : 

His the praise alone.” 

I N a meeting at Gen-ske-cho the other day 
our chapter was the fourth of Matthew’s 
Gospel, and the blind men were particularly 
interested in the verse beginning, “And Jesus 
went about all Galilee, teaching in their syna¬ 
gogues, and preaching the gospel of the king¬ 
dom.” We have thought and talked a great 
deal about the kingdom of heaven lately. It 
seems very near, and it is such joyous work 
to point the way thither. 

Our girls are growing in knowledge and in 
grace. They keep up their Sabbath noon 
prayer-meetings, and many an earnest prayer 
ascends from their lips to the true God. They 
regularly attend the Bible classes, and find 
the Book ever more wonderful and interest¬ 
ing. We close our school-week by a prayer¬ 
meeting, to which the women of the church 

278 


279 


1876] Coming into the Kingdom. 

come. We are now reading Mark, our first 
Gospel. 

The church services are well attended, and 
the Sabbath-school is large. Most of the 
older girls have classes. Many women are 
interested, and we are praying and working 
for them. We find the influence of the Holy 
Spirit among us, and all speak and pray with 
a power never felt before. 

On the bright Sabbath which closed the 
month of October last year (1875) some old 
friends came to Ro-ku-ban. They were Take- 
jiro, with the woman Hayashi and her two 
neatly-dressed, polite little boys, Toichiro and 
Saijiro; the latter was the baby of six years 
ago. His black eyes have lost none of their 
sparkle, and I never look into them as they 
meet mine with such a fearless gaze without 
thinking of the day when we put him in the 
chair and he told me to “go away quickly.” 

We rejoiced to see this mother coming Sun¬ 
day after Sunday, sometimes with one and 
sometimes with both of the little boys. She 
listened eagerly to the preaching, and her in¬ 
terest seemed to increase. Deguchi san and 
I went to see her in her home on Ginza. We 
read the third chapter of John, and when 
Deguchi san told her that special prayer had 
been offered for her she seemed much grati- 


28 o 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1876 


fied. Soon after, she expressed her desire to 
be admitted into the full communion of the 
church. She was the very first woman taught 
in Tokio. We are all glad to have her 
with us. 

Much snow fell in Tokio the first of the 
year (1876). It lay upon the ground for two 
whole days, and weighed down the fir trees. 
After the storm I went to old Hisa’s house 
to see about gathering the women together 
for their meeting, but we cannot do anything 
here for fifteen days at the New Year’s holi¬ 
days. Every one is busy for one week mak¬ 
ing preparations for the festival, and after that 
they must have a “play ” or “rest” for another 
week. Only the jin-ri-ki-ya’s boy was at home. 
The jin-ri-ki-ya has not been doing well lately, 
and the burden of the support of this little 
child falls on his grandmother. The old wo¬ 
man had gone out into the country. 

Just at the door, as I was going away, I 
met Tomi, Hisa’s daughter, a pale, sad young 
woman, who has been thinking seriously on 
the good way, but has not been able to come 
to any definite conclusion. She asked me to 
go to see a woman who has been attending 
the services regularly. She is the second wife 
of a kutsuya, or cobbler, and has a little step¬ 
daughter. We made our way carefully down 


1876] Coming into the Kingdom. 281 

an alley, the melted snow dropping from the 
roofs of the houses. 

The kutsuya, who was baptized the next 
Sunday, has a very small house. The little 
room into which we were taken was about 
six feet square. An almost perpendicular 
ladder led to one above, apparently of the 
same size. The kitchen in front was about 
three feet in width, and that was the extent 
of the house. 

The kutsuya, his wife and child, two neigh¬ 
bors, Tomi and myself quite filled up the 
lower room. One of the women was very 
old. “ O Ba san,” she was asked, “ do you 
find this world a very happy place ?” “ Alas, 
no!” she said; “ there are many cares and 

troubles.” “ O Ba san,” said the kutsuya, 
“you are growing old. You must attend to 
these things now, for it' is dangerous to delay.” 
Then we talked for a time, sang our little hymn, 
and came away. We talked to-night at home 
about the meeting. This O Ba san is a hair¬ 
dresser, and usually can be taught only at 
night. The kutsuya’s wife is like Tomi—only 
“ almost persuaded.” Old Hisa thinks she is 
not kind to her little girl, and that keeps her 
from coming out decidedly. 

The old woman is in trouble. Her son, 
the jin-ri-ki-ya, has run away; and when she 

24 * 


282 


[1876 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 

had come home from the country with a “glad 
heart ” because the people had listened to her 
teachings, it was to have this unpleasant news 
to meet her. And just now, after the other 
girls had gone to bed, O Michi san came, cry¬ 
ing and sobbing, to tell me that her father had 
been put in prison. This is all she has heard, 
and we can learn nothing more to-night. 

A number of days have passed away since 
the meeting at the kutsuya’s. The fathers of 
two of our girls were baptized not long ago. 
One of our scholars, who lives in the country, 
is very anxious to have some one go to her 
home to teach her parents. 

We are much interested in three women 
from Sannai Cko, or Sannai “ street,” who have 
been coming without interruption to church 
and prayer-meeting. I went with Deguchi san 
to see them one day. They are mother and 
daughters. With them was a woman from a 
distance who “ wants to believe,” they said. 
It was a long time before we could get them 
quiet enough to sit down and listen to a chap¬ 
ter and have their lesson in the catechism. 
The mother and one daughter answered their 
questions very well. This little book, begin¬ 
ning, “ Who made you ?—God,” has been 
invaluable to us since its translation. 

The wife of old Sa-sa-ki, a Christian man. 


1876] Coming into the Kingdom. 283 

is another woman whom we have much in our 
thoughts. We went to Sa-sa-ki’s house one 
day, and found him lying on his futon cough¬ 
ing dreadfully. The wife came and sat beside 
us, and listened as we read of the coming of 
Christ and the happy entrance of the righteous 
into bliss. The woman listened and assented, 
but with her it was the old story of not having 
the time to go to church. 

One day O Yasu san told of an old woman 
who went to Gen-ske-cho to hear the new doc¬ 
trine. She had long felt the burden of her 
sins, and had tried to find peace by going on 
pilgrimage or in one doctrine after another of 
Buddhism or Sintooism. She spoke to one 
of her neighbors of her long struggles and 
want of success in finding peace, and the 
neighbor told her of our meetings at Gen-ske- 
cho, and she went there. O Yasu san said of 
her, “ Such a happy O Ba san!” 

“ If some one were to go all through this 
country and proclaim pardon for sin, would 
not many hear with joy ?” asked a missionary 
of a Japanese Christian one day. “Oh yes!" 
was the answer; and I believe it from my 
heart. 

Old Hisa and I went to see this O Ba san 
one day. She lives in a little room back of a 
store. She said there was not room to turn 


284 The Simrise Kingdom. [1876 

around, and indeed we three nearly filled it 
as we sat around the hi-ba-chi. We read the 
parable of the Ten Virgins. The woman told 
us that she could not understand the Bible 
very well when she read it alone, and we ex¬ 
plained the parable to her as we could. She 
manifested a deep and tender interest in what 
was said, and we left her trusting that she had 
indeed tasted of the true happiness. 

Deguchi san’s old mother and the wife of 
her brother are among those who wish to be 
baptized, and also two of our girls, Mitsuye 
and Rin. Thus the work ever grows in inter¬ 
est, and those who are working seem to have 
new strength imparted to them. 

The Christian girls come, and we talk of 
what we have seen and heard of the progress 
of the gospel in this land, and of how one 
and another has received it into his or her 
heart, and thus become an “ heir ” of the “ king¬ 
dom.” Prayers go up for one who is penitent, 
or for another who is “ halting between two 
opinions,” or for one who is wandering just 
a little from the path in which she began to 
walk, or for those who are in affliction and 
distress. “ Praying and working—working and 
praying”—this is the watchword. 

April .—A number of the women for whom 
we have been praying this winter have been 


1876] Coming into the Kingdom. 285 

baptized. Among them are Ha-ya-shi san, 
Deguchi san’s old mother, and her sister-in-law 
Honda san, Sa-sa-ki’s wife, who has found time to 
come to church, the kutsuya’s wife and Tomi, 
whose doubts have all disappeared, with Mit- 
suye and Rin, our own two girls, the three 
Sannai cho women and the wife of Umekichi, 
formerly our servant. The O Ba san did not 
appear. 

Many sightless ones ( a-mas ) have been led 
by the hand to the altar and felt the baptismal 
water on their heads. How touching- is it to 
see these blind ones coming forward rejoicing 
in the hope that the eyes of their understand¬ 
ing have been opened, that they might behold 
the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus 
Christ! Who can help thinking of the story 
of the blind Bartimeus ? and the quaint verses 
of the old hymn always recur to me when I 
see them : 

“ Oh, methinks I hear him praising, 

Publishing to all around, 

Friends, is not my case amazing ? 

What a Saviour I have found ! 

Oh that all the blind but knew him, 

And would be advised by me ! 

Surely they would hasten to him : 

Fie would cause them all to see !” 

Some of the most touching prayers have 
been offered for Kato san in prison; for it 


286 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1876 


was too true that he was put in prison. He 
is an editor, and used some expressions in 
his paper which gave offence to the govern¬ 
ment. Michi tried one day to get blankets 
and a Bible to him, that he might suffer less 
from the cold, and hoping that as he had the 
time, so he might have the inclination, to read 
the Book, but she did not succeed. Every 
cold day, or when the wind of winter whis¬ 
tles around the house at night, she is greatly 
distressed for her father, and they all pray 
that he may call to mind all that he has read 
and heard of Christ and his word, and be 
converted—yes, find the way into the king¬ 
dom, even in his prison-cell. 

“ Ah yes, O Ba san!” This is an answer 
to a question about America from an old 
woman at Gen-ske-cho. “ My country’’ is a 
pleasant country, but it is a great distance 
away. It would take a long time to go there, 
and more money than you can ever get. 
But there is a better country which you may 
reach without going from this room, and with¬ 
out money. The sick and the poor and the 
little child may enter this country’. It is the 
kingdom of heaven. God is the King. In 
it the sun is ever shining. In it you will find 
all your wants supplied. ‘Let him that is 
athirst come.’ ” 


CHAPTER VIII. 

“ OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN.” 


“ And they spake the language of Canaan.” 

W HO knows anything about Fridays at 
Ro-ku-ban ? Our girls enjoy them, 
for they like the sewing and “declamations,” 
as they call their recitations on that day. O 
Michi san helps the little ones with their patch- 
work, and the other girls do fancy-work. In 
the afternoon they all assemble in the school¬ 
room, and read and recite in English and Jap¬ 
anese. Sometimes they have dialogues, and 
always some have compositions. Then, when 
the exercises are over, the report for the week 
is read, and after singing the little ones go 
away, and the elder girls, with the women, re¬ 
main to their prayer-meeting. In the evening, 
while the winter wind is howling around the 
house and the waves are dashing against the 
breakwater, the fire is kindled in the grate 
of a room not often used, where we can be 
undisturbed, and the lamp is placed on the 
table. Then the two women give their reports 
of work during- the week. Old Hisa has 


287 


288 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1876 

taught the blind men every day. Last week 
she was out in the country two days; reports 
that the people heard joyfully. 

We are reading, on Friday evenings, parts 
of the book of Leviticus. Only the older 
girls have joined the class, and the lessons 
are exceedingly pleasant to 11s all, and very 
profitable. The voluntary offering of the best 
of the flock—the “ male without blemish ”— 
gives the girls clear ideas in regard to the 
Lamb of God, who offered himself a sacrifice 
for us, and shows them how they must give 
up their best to God. 

The man standing with his hand on the 
victim’s head leads them better to understand 
the meaning of the words, “ Laying our sins 
on Jesus.” The oblations, with the incense 
and the sweet-smelling savor that went up 
to the Lord, show them how to present their 
bodies a sacrifice to God “without hypocrisy,” 
and with faith, peace and love. There also 
do they learn of the high priest going up 
with clean linen robes to offer his sacrifices, 
and they read of the fire ever burning on 
the altar and of the terrible leprosy, the type 
of sin. (Deguchi san says there are leper- 
villages in Japan.) 

Thus the girls are learning more and more 
of the heavenly language, and are being 


1S76] “Our Father which art in Heaven .” 289 

strengthened to walk in the heavenly way. 
It is wonderful what a rest there is in teach¬ 
ing the Bible. These lessons always come after 
a week of toil in the schoolroom. VVe go to 
them wearied almost to exhaustion, and come 
from them strong and triumphant as those 
who have been drinking from a deep well 
of life-giving water. 

Thursday, Feb. 34 , 1876 .—Our lesson at 
Gen-ske-cho this afternoon was on the latter 
part of the sixth chapter of Matthew. The 
women listened very attentively, but at times 
there comes such a feeling of helplessness in 
the effort to teach them ! So many come only 
once or twice, and we see them no more. 
What shall we say to such ? They under¬ 
stand so little of the language of the kingdom, 
but this wonderful Sermon on the Mount gives 
us the first letter of the heavenly alphabet, the 
very first word of the heavenly language. 
Jesus spoke to multitudes such as these—- 
weary, worn, sinful, ignorant people. He spoke 
to them of God, and what words did he use ? 
“Your Father,” “our Father,” “the Father.” 

Let us look at some of these verses more 
carefully than ever before, and read as though 
we saw them for the first time: 

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before 
men, to be seen of them : otherwise ye have 

25 T 


290 


[1876 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 

no reward of your Father which is in heaven.” 
What do these heathen women know of any¬ 
thing done without thought of honor from 
men ? What do they know of the Father 
who seeth in secret, and who will reward 
openly ? 

“ But thou, when thou prayest, enter into 
thy closet; and when thou hast shut thy door, 
pray to thy Father which is in secret.” Their 
shrines are in the kitchen or in the busiest 
corners of the house, and while they pray 
busy work and idle talk are going on all 
around them. They pray “standing” in the 
temples, where the multitudes who throng 
them can see their devotions, prostrations and 
counting of beads. It is well to take just the 
words that the Lord Jesus uses and give them 
to the people, for they can understand them 
without note or comment. 

“ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon 
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and 
where thieves break through and steal. But 
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 
where neither moth nor rust do corrupt, and 
where thieves do not break through nor steal. 
For where your treasure is, there will your 
heart be also.” “Take no thought, saying, 
What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or 
wherewithal shall we be clothed? Your heav-r 


1876] “Our Father which art in Heaven .” 291 

enly Father knoweth that ye have need of all 
these things. But seek ye first the kingdom 
of God and his righteousness, and all these 
things shall be added unto you.” “And after 
this manner pray ye; Our Father which art 
in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy king¬ 
dom come, thy will be done on earth as it is 
in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our 
debtors. And lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the 
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for 
ever. Amen.” This is what the women at 
Gen-ske-cho are learning. We speak such 
words as these to them, and they repeat them 
over and over again; and this is seed-sowing — 
a different work from the care of growing, 
ripening grain. 

Our children at home are learning for their 
evening Bible lesson the twelfth chapter of 
Luke’s Gospel. They commit a few verses 
to memory each day, and we pray that these 
words may be written upon their hearts for 
ever. In the very first verse they learn, “ Be¬ 
ware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which 
is hypocrisy.” They are learning to beware 
of it, and to hate lying. Thus is the seed 
planted in.their minds, and we pray that even 
if not now, while we are so anxiously watching, 


292 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1876 

yet in the years to come, it may spring up 
and bear fruit. 

One day, Mashi, Shi-ge, Nui, Kame, Rin and 
I went by invitation to spend the afternoon at 
Willow Island, Mr. H.’s place, on the other 
side of the river. The girls got into the boat 
on the little lake, and their merry laughter 
seemed to accord with the joyousness and 
beauty of everything around. We went to 
see plum-blossoms and drink plum-tea, and we 
had sweetmeats and enjoyed the garden. As 
I stood upon the mound and looked down 
upon the flowers, the pond, the island and the 
boat laden with the girls in their bright sashes 
and hairpins, one happy thought filled my heart: 
They are Christians; they know their Father’s 
name, and know, too, that all enjoyment comes 
from him. 

“ In my Father’s house are many mansions.” 
We want to lead many of the women to their 
Father’s house. It is not a hard message to 
deliver with which those who are “ sent ” are 
burdened—simply this: “You have a Father 
in heaven. He it is who has been causing his 
sun to shine on you. He has been feeding 
and clothing you. You have wandered away 
from his house. Now he is calling you to come 
back. The way is through the Son. Come to 
Jesus!” 


1876] “Our Father which art in Heaven." 293 

Much of the preceding consists of extracts 
from journals kept during the last winter— 
records of seed-sowing. The precious seed 
will fall by the wayside or into stony places, 
and some be choked with thorns, but much 
will fall into good ground, and we are com¬ 
manded to go on sowing without fear or doubt. 

I have seen O I-ne san’s mother lately. The 
family have lost money in various ways, and 
have moved from the house where we first 
saw them. O I-ne san does not yet decide to 
follow the example of her school-friends in 
becoming a member of the visible Church. 
I often wonder if the first little blade which 
I saw peeping out after one year of waiting 
is going to be all choked up by weeds. But 
we will hope not so, and pray that she and 
her mother, my first friends in Tokio, will yet 
become true disciples of Christ. 

O I-ne san shows the result of her careful 
training. She is exceedingly dignified in man¬ 
ner, and in her studies is far ahead of most 
girls of her age at home. Her mother may 
well be proud of this her only child, and we 
can only pray that they will both learn to say 
from the heart, “ Our Father,” and then carry 
the good news to O-ji. 

25 * 


CHAPTER IX. 


LITTLE CHILDREN. 

“ Little children, little children, 

Who love their Redeemer, 

Are the jewels, precious jewels, 

His loved and his own.” 

J APANESE babies always seem to me the 
most comical little mortals imaginable. 
We see hundreds of them in the streets, 
carried on the backs of their child nurses, some 
of whom do not appear much larger than the 
babies, so that the effect is of one child with 
two heads. These babies are fastened into 
the outer garments of their nurses in such 
a way as bo leave only the heads exposed if 
they are very small, but if they are large 
enough. to make free use of their hands de- 
sirable, the arms are left free. The poor little 
heads are shaved, with the exception of small 
patches of hair, and are often covered with 
loathsome sores. 

The young nurses play ball or battledore 
and shuttlecock with apparent unconcern as 
to the fate of the babies. It is seldom that 


294 


1876] Little Children. 295 

any accident occurs, but occasionally a child 
will roll off from the back of its nurse. Then 
we know whether a Japanese baby can cry or 
not. It always appears to us a fertile cause 
of weak eyes in after-life that the head of a 
little infant is left unsupported and its eyes 
are exposed to a strong light. It must also 
be injurious to the child who acts as nurse 
to have a heavy baby strapped on her back, 
thus causing habitual stooping. 

Yet it seems to me that babies have very 
good care taken of them. They are amused 
by gaudy toys, rattles and bells when awake, 
and have little mosquito-nets to protect them 
from insects while they sleep. Indeed, they 
are a contented race, and accept as a matter 
of course what does not please them. 

Once a young mother showed us her baby’s 
wardrobe. Its best robes were of crape and 
silk, all of large figures and with wide, flowing 
sleeves made after the same pattern as its 
mother’s garments. For ordinary wear the 
baby had short dresses made of bright red 
and yellow cloth. For ornaments the babies 
have square patches of red, green or em¬ 
broidered cloth put upon their backs. They 
wear little colored bibs, and when the weather 
is cold, red crape caps with cloaks much like 
the dresses. Then they have their bags con- 


296 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1876 

taining amulets on their backs. When they 
are old enough just to toddle around they 
have bells fastened to them, so that the mother 
may know where they are. The principal dan¬ 
gers by accident to which they are liable are fall¬ 
ing into hi-ba-chis- or upsetting tea-kettles. 

I have heard somewhere of a difference of 
ceremony observed at the birth of a boy-baby 
and a girl: the little boy is raised and the 
girl lowered, in token of superior or inferior 
position. But I have never myself noticed 
any difference in their treatment, and great 
care is taken even of sickly or deformed in¬ 
fants. The Japanese are not like their neigh¬ 
bors, who desert their blind, deformed or dis¬ 
eased infants. 

Some girls who were in our school had a 
little blind sister. The mother was most de¬ 
voted to this baby, nursing it continually, and 
hailing gladly every symptom of increased 
strength, for the child was very delicate. She 
brought her here once, dressed in most gor¬ 
geous robes, and the little thing laughed and 
seemed very happy. At last it learned how to 
raise its little hands and say, “Takai! takai!" 
(“So high! so high!”), and all were delighted. 
We learned much of the care and devotion 
of a Japanese mother in watching this one, 
with her poor blind baby. 



MOTHER AND CHILD. 


Page 295. 










































































- 






1876] Little Children. 297 

The first baby I noticed specially was the 
child of our servants. The mother performed 
her daily tasks with the baby on her back. It 
died suddenly one night. The father carried 
the little body away. They cried a great deal 
at first, but soon seemed to forget it. I watch¬ 
ed the mother at her work, and wondered if 
she missed the “ little hindering thing.” But 
we could not talk about it, for at that time 
we did not understand each other’s language. 
Then another baby came. They called her 
Kane (“money”). Little Miss Money was 
plump and strong, and grew nicely. She 
learned to walk and to sing “Jesus loves me.” 
But neither did her little feet press the sod of 
God’s footstool very long, for she too died 
after much suffering. 

Another very little child whom I have known 
was a brother of O Yo san, one of the younger 
scholars. He was a fine-looking, healthy boy 
until a year old. He always had a smile for 
the foreign lady who went to the house. But 
he began to droop and to suffer with his head. 
All that was possible was done for him, but 
one day the baby closed his eyes, and his 
sufferings were over. The mother was much 
distressed, for the father was in America and 
had never seen his boy. 

Doubtless the baby-spirits are safe. But 


2 98 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1876 

we are glad to have these little ones, children 
of Christian parents, brought into the church 
by baptism. One of the first babies baptized 
was our Umekichi’s little daughter. She is 
a nervous child, full of life and play, with a 
comical, screwed-up little face, yet very win¬ 
ning withal, and a great pet with us. She 
wears a little bell, and when she is awake it 
keeps up a constant tinkling. 

She has been taught to say, “ Good-bye, ba¬ 
by,” in English, and when she wants anything 
says these words, so as to obtain her wishes. 
She imitates everything she sees, sits and 
plays on the parlor-organ, and sings like a 
foreigner. She gives the calls of peddlers 
and sellers of fish and vegetables, takes a 
basket and goes around pretending to sell 
things, saying that she is a Chinaman. Some¬ 
times she gets into a passion and kicks and 
screams like a real home-baby, but usually 
she is good, and it is pleasant to listen to the 
tinkling of the bell and hear the “ Good-bye, 
baby.” 

Another one of the baptized children of 
the church is Toda san’s strong, hearty boy. 
He is an active child, and never keeps still 
when awake. Old Hisa’s little Se-no-ski is one 
who is being well taught in the Scriptures. 
He can repeat verse after verse of Matthew’s 


1876] Little Children. 299 

Gospel, and he tells me that he prays every 
day. 

Work among little children always seems to 
me the most hopeful and pleasant of all work. 
To be sure, it does not seem to yield fruit as 
rapidly as some other soil, and “ little lambs ” 
will stray away and act in a very naughty man¬ 
ner. But our little ones are ever a comfort 
to us, and it is delightful to witness the effects 
of grace in these children’s hearts. They all 
come on Sundays, bright and happy, to go to 
church and Sabbath-school, and pay good at¬ 
tention to their lessons. Their short text is 
written for them on the blackboard, and then 
they copy it on slates. “ From a child thou 
hast known the Scripture ” was the verse one 
morning not long ago. The children repeated 
it in English; then we took the words as they 
come in the reversed order of Japanese sen¬ 
tences: “‘Thou.’ What is that?” and the 
children all said, “Anata” (“You”). “Child¬ 
time from,” “Scripture,” “hast known,” and in 
this order they got the words into Japanese, 
and then repeated them all together. They all 
learn much of Jesus, his parables and miracles, 
and it is far better for them than the stories 
of Mimotaro , Kintaro , The Tail-cut Swallow, 
etc. But we wish we had simpler books for 
them. We want a book about sheep and 


300 


[<876 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 

lambs and shepherds, etc., that the children 
may better understand such words in the 
Scriptures. 

They have their own prayer-meetings, all 
joining in prayer and. singing. They carry 
their little hymn-books and their Happy Books 
home with them. Once when Sudzu was sick 
I found her with the catechism under her pillow. 
Her baby-brother, just learning to talk, heard 
some one begin the prayer, “ Our Father,” and 
he bent his head and clasped his hands as soon 
as he heard the first words. 

Have I ever told any one about our little 
Kiku (“ chrysanthemum ”) ? I went out to 
gather flowers one day, and found this one. 
She is a very little child, and flies around re¬ 
gardless of all rule, and yet she is the affianced 
bride of a young man of twenty-three or -four, 
and already talks of her husband. I saw him 
with her one day—she just a baby playing 
with some new shoes her father had bought 
her, and he a full-grown young man. 

And O I-no san’s little sister, the prettiest 
Japanese child I ever saw, has been given away 
—affianced to the son of some friends in the 
country, and sent off to be brought up in their 
family. I wonder if the father and the moth¬ 
er do not miss their pretty little daughter? 
“ It is to be hoped,” says a sensible Japanese, 


1876] 


Little Children. 


301 


“ that these ridiculous customs will soon be 
done away with.” And indeed we hope so 
too, for we love the little Japanese children, 
and trust they will soon be delivered from such 
bonds. 

Our dear little children in school are learn¬ 
ing much that is good and useful. We try 
to have them in the open air a great deal, and 
they have gymnastics in the house. They 
study their lessons pretty well and are learn¬ 
ing fast, and they are little Christian children, 
singing sweet hymns and becoming acquainted 
with the 'stories of Adam and Eve and Joseph 
and Moses, and, above all, learning of Jesus. 
Let us pray that they may all be gathered into 
his fold. 

26 




CHAPTER X. 


THE HEM OF THE GARMENT. 
e< For she said, If I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole. 1 ” 

RIN SAN’S aunt was dying. Deguchi 



san and I did not hear of her illness, or 
know, indeed, that there was such a woman, 
until she was almost gone. Deguchi san had 
a copy of Mark when we went to see her, and 
she seemed to listen while she read of the 
woman who came behind Jesus in the crowd 
and touched his garment. On Sunday morn¬ 
ing a priest was at the house mumbling his 
senseless prayers, but the woman paid little 
attention to him. When we were there in 
the afternoon she was just at the point of 
death. The doors were closed. Outside, the 
busy multitude passed by. We sat quietly 
beside the dying woman in the little low room. 
Then came a sense of the presence of the 
Lord. He was there with us in the room. 

The woman turned to O Rin san before 
she died and asked her to read again the story 
of the woman who touched the Lord’s garment, 
and while O Rin san was reading the words, 


302 


1876] The Hem of ihe Garmnet. 303 

“If I may touch but his clothes,” she died. 
Was he really there ? Did she touch the bor¬ 
der of his garment? 

How many there are whom we feel to be 
but touching the border of the garment! Sick 
and weak and ignorant ones, foolish old women 
and young children, are just now in that posi¬ 
tion. Many of them are baptized, and rightly 
so; for we are told to receive even the weak 
in faith, and we who are strong are to help 
them and “ bear their infirmities.” 

One day at Gen-ske-cho my attention was 
drawn to a pale, sick young girl, almost a 
child, who listened eagerly to every word and 
seemed to drink it all in. I hoped to meet 
her the next Thursday, but was disappointed. 
Again the time for the meeting came, but 
O Taki san was not there. Then I asked 
old Hisa about her. “ She is ill,” she said.— 
“Well, I must go to see her.”—“But,” said 
O Hisa san, “ it would not do to go: her 
mother would be angry.” I insisted upon 
going, however, so she reluctantly led the way 
to a kura. 

The mother of the sick child heard us at 
the door and came out, but gave no invita¬ 
tion to enter. The slides were open, and we 
could see into the house. On a futon lay 
poor little O Taki san in a heavy sleep. “ She 


304 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1876 

sleeps this way all day, and lies awake in pain 
all night,” said the mother, letting us know 
how impossible it was for us to talk with her. 
So we left the child in her sleep and went 
home. Afterward we tried in some way to 
gain favor with the mother, but it was all in 
vain, and the child died in that condition. Still, 
we remembered how earnestly she listened 
when she heard once of the Lord, and how 
spiritual was the expression of her face. Our 
girls prayed often before she died for the child 
who had heard the gospel, and who slept all 
day and lay awake all night. 

There are many who hear the gospel but 
once. We try to give them something to 
remember, and some tract or copy of the 
catechism to take with them, and then pray 
that seeds dropped in faith may spring up. 

The old O Ba sans, leaning upon their staffs, 
weak with the infirmities of age, form one class 
among whom we work. When we remember 
their lives—how they have always been under 
dark clouds of ignorance and superstition, and 
how fixed their habits of life and thought have 
become—we cannot wonder that they hate the 
doctrines they know so little about, and which 
they have been taught to hate. They are gen¬ 
tle, cheery old bodies, always smiling and 
in a good humor. It is pleasant to see how 


1876] The Hem of the Garment. 305 

kindly they are cared for by sons and daugh¬ 
ters. We often see them led by the hand in 
the gardens or at Mu-ko-ji-ma, taken with the 
children to “ see flowers.” Many of them are 
bent almost double, even those who have not 
attained any extreme old age. Sometimes we 
stop one in her walk and say, “Well, old lady, 
how old are you ?” Then Grandmother will 
laugh and thank us over and over, and tell 
with pleasure her many years. 

Our old O Ba san of Shin-ya-ma died some 
time ago. She was ill for a long time. Degu- 
chi san read the Testament to her, but she 
was too old to grasp it firmly. The daughter 
was good to her. “ It will not be long that I 
shall have her,” she said, “ so I must do for 
her what I can nowand the old woman 
received the most devoted care during her 
long illness. 

Yet some of these old women do renounce 
their idols and become believers. Our O Ba 
san, Umekichi’s mother, was very old and 
feeble when she was baptized, but is regular 
in her attendance at church. She comes to 
the prayer-meetings, and offers simple pray¬ 
ers, and sometimes talks. The poor old lady 
likes to sit in the sun, and I have often seen 
her on cold winter days, when the sun was 
shining brightly, sitting on a mat out of doors 

26 * U 


306 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1876 

with her sewing. I tell her she will surely 
take cold, but she says not. Some of their 
habits seem very peculiar to us. 

Deguchi san’s mother is one of our old 
people. She went alone to the elders of the 
church to be examined, coming early in the 
morning. She says, “ Alas! I forget as soon 
as I hear. The words enter into one ear and 
go out at the other.” And this is certainly 
true. But are we not to lead these feeble 
ones by the hand, as it were, along the hea¬ 
venly road? This is a part of our work—a 
very different phase from that with the little 
children. 

We who are strong must guide them along 
the way, be with them when they fall, and go 
with them to the brink of the river when they 
die. Happy are we if, strong in the Lord, we 
can bring them ever closer to his side. And 
we thank God that there is life in a look and 
life in a touch, that even those who but touch 
the border of his garment shall be made whole. 

An old man, a Christian, is dead. The peo¬ 
ple say, “ He is asleep.” Formerly, when they 
spoke of dead persons, they said, “ They are 
dead and finished,” or “ They have become 
nothing.” Now they say, “They are asleep.” 


BOOK IV. 


CHAPTER I. 

WOMAN’S WORK FOR WOMAN. 

“ I will greatly multiply thy sorrow. Thy desire shall be to thy 
husband, and he shall reign over thee.” 

“ Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and said unto 
him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.” 

H EATHEN women are under a curse; 

Christian women are restored to the 
favor of God through Christ. The depths 
of degradation in the curse and the heights 
of blessing in the restoration are only com¬ 
prehended fully by those who live among the 
heathen, who can compare country with country 
and condition with condition. Wherever in the 
world one woman leads another to the Saviour 
or teaches some poor ignorant one to speak 
the heavenly language, or to sing the notes 
of the glad new song; wherever one woman 
draws another from filth and vice to cleanli¬ 
ness and godliness, from idleness to industry, 
from Satan to God; wherever one woman 
speaks to another words of comfort and cheer 

307 



308 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

and endeavors to alleviate her suffering .—there 
woman is working for woman. 

But to-day we would look up from our work 
in the harvest-fields, from our posts in the out¬ 
skirts, especially to the great body of workers 
with us at home. For it seems as though a 
vast army were gathering behind us. Every 
mail brings news of societies organized to aid 
us in our work. 

We have from home some account of how 
the societies were organized, and of the origin 
of the movement, which seems, in a number 
of instances, to have started almost simultane¬ 
ously in different denominations of Christians. 
The zeal and devotion of the Roman Catholic 
Sisters of Charity may have been felt as a 
rebuke by Protestant women, and the ques¬ 
tion asked, “Will not woman’s love and wo¬ 
man’s tenderness and woman’s consecration 
win a way for the gospel where like influences 
have won a way for error ?” Many of us, too, 
are familiar with the sisterhoods of the Lutheran 
Church. We have read of how they go to 
Palestine and Africa, to the desolate regions 
of Hungary and other places, there to estab¬ 
lish orphanages or to do hospital-work. There 
are also sisterhoods in the Episcopal Church 
especially for hospital-service. 

It has generally been thought that these 


1877] Woman's Work for Woman. 309 

“ Sisters ” must be unmarried women in order 
to attend to the duties of their office. Most 
of the Protestant missionary societies do not 
hamper their workers by any binding promises, 
and yet it seems but right that, having been 
sent by a society into a distant field at great 
expense, they should remain faithful at their 
posts for at least some years, and not take 
upon themselves any duty or relation which 
would prevent them from fulfilling those for 
which they were sent. The question of the 
marriage of missionaries can only be settled 
by those most nearly concerned in the matter, 
and to them it had better be left. The work 
of unmarried women in missionary-fields is 
very important—indeed, indispensable. The 
difficulty in regard to their homes has been 
solved in late years by the plan of sending 
two or three together to make a home for 
themselves, and this plan has been found to 
be entirely practicable. Unmarried women 
hold high positions in our missions, and year 
after year the special difficulties attending their 
work are vanishing. 

The missionary societies who take under 
their care both married and unmarried women 
are, in our judgment, wise. They find that all 
have a work to do—some in one way, and 
some in another. The opening of the zenanas 


3io 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1877 


of. India to the missionary-women seems to 
have been the real starting-point of the wo¬ 
men’s societies in America. Whatever woman 
only can do, that woman must do; and in 
answer to the call from India women organized 
the first society. The Women's Union Mis¬ 
sionary Society was organized in New York 
City in 1861. It has always worked independ¬ 
ently of any mission-boards, and is composed 
of all denominations. The late president of 
this society, Mrs. Doremus, was justly termed 
the mother of missionaries. The organ of the 
society is The Missionary Link. Its home-work¬ 
ers are found in all parts of the United States, 
and its representatives in the foreign field in 
India, China and Japan, besides which it has 
schools in Greece and in Egypt. Of the spe¬ 
cial work of thS society in this land (Japan), we 
need only mention the American home and 
the name of Mrs. Pruyn to bring it before the 
Lord’s people at home. 

Women's Board of Missions. —This society 
was organized in Boston in 1868, under the 
supervision of the American Board of Com¬ 
missioners of Foreign Missions in the Con¬ 
gregational Church. The organ of the society 
is Life and Light for Women. Their foreign 
workers are in India, Africa, China, Japan, and, 
most of all, in Turkey, where the American 


1877] Woman's Work for Woman. 3 11 

Board has been laboring for so many years, 
and with such marked success. This society 
is doing a great work in Japan. Its schools 
are in Ko-be, Osaca and Kioto. 

A branch of the society just mentioned is 
the Woman's Board of Missions of the Interior, 
collecting the subscriptions and conducting 
the work of the Western part of the country, 
under the American Board. 

The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society 
of the Presbyterian Church was organized in 
Philadelphia in May, 1870. The two maga¬ 
zines of this society are Woman's Work for 
Woman and Children's Work for Children. 
Its auxiliaries are numerous in Pennsylvania 
and the neighboring States, and its foreign 
work is in India, Siam, Syria, Persia, China, 
Africa, Japan, Mexico, South America, and 
among the Indians and Chinese of our own 
country. Its work in Japan is in Tokio and 
Yokohama, where it has under its care mis¬ 
sionaries, single and married, a school in the 
latter place, and a part interest in the board¬ 
ing-school at Tokio. 

The Occidental Branch of the society was 
organized at San Francisco, Cal., in 1873. The 
ladies edit weekly one column of the Occident. 
The States and Territories around the parent 
society are still so sparsely settled that there 


312 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

are comparatively few auxiliaries, but we hope 
that more will be organized. They found a 
work waiting for them at their very door—the 
Chinese of California. Their “ Home for Chi¬ 
nese Women ” is doing a great work in bring¬ 
ing women and girls under Christian training 
and rescuing them from a sinful life. 

The Ladies' Home and Foreign Board of 
Missions was organized under its present 
name in New York in November, 1870. It 
had formerly existed as a home society. Its 
organ is Our Mission-Field. Its foreign mission¬ 
aries are in Syria, Persia, India, China, Siam, 
Japan and Africa. It has one school for girls 
partly under its care in Japan. 

The Woman's Presbyterian Board of Missions 
of the North-west was organized in Chicago in 
December, 1870, the women of the Presbyte¬ 
rian Church separating from their fellow-work¬ 
ers in the Congregational Church. They unite 
with the society at Philadelphia in publishing 
Woman's Work for Woman as their organ. 
Their home-workers and auxiliaries are in the 
North-western States, and their foreign mission¬ 
aries are among the Indians of North America, 
in China and Japan, in India and Persia, in 
Siam and Syria, and in South America. 

The Woman’s Baptist Missionary Society is 
in two divisions—the Eastern, organized at 


1877] Woman’s Work for Woman. 313 

Boston in April, 1871, and the Western, organ¬ 
ized in Chicago in May, 1871. Its missionary 
paper is The Helping Hand. It has numer¬ 
ous home-workers, and Burmah has always 
been the special field of the Baptist Church 
since the days of Dr. Judson. It has also un¬ 
der its charge the Karen missions, Eurasian 
missions in Burmah, the Shan mission, the 
Telvogoo mission, also one to the Chinese in 
Siam and in China. It now has two mis¬ 
sionaries in Japan—one in Tokio, and one in 
Yokohama. 

The Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized 
in 1869. It has at home over two thousand 
auxiliaries, and missionaries in India, China, 
Japan, Africa, Bulgaria, Italy, South America 
and Mexico. Its work in Japan is in Tokio, 
Yokohama and Hakodati. 

The Woman's Auxiliary to the Board of Mis¬ 
sions (Episcopal) was organized in 1873. It has 
a number of local societies throughout the dif¬ 
ferent States, and missionaries in Greece, Pales¬ 
tine, China, Japan, Africa, and among the North 
American Indians. 

The Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions of 
the Reformed Church in America was formed in 
1874. It has representatives in India, China 
and Japan. 

27 


314 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

We have thus glanced at the principal mis¬ 
sionary societies in the home-land. They are 
like parts of a great planetary system—suns, 
planets and satellites all revolving around one 
centre, Jesus, the great central Sun—or like 
so many divisions of an army, under different 
banners, captains and generals, but all fighting 
for the King. What a mighty force it is! We 
in the field feel overwhelmed when we think 
of it. . We can only pray God to give them 
grace and strength and wisdom as they need. 

The papers and letters from our own society, 
the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of 
the Presbyterian Church, show us how they 
work, and no doubt the others do their work 
in a similar way. Their object is “to promote 
an interest among Christian women in the 
work of foreign missions.” The officers of 
the parent society consist of a President, Vice- 
Presidents, Foreign Corresponding Secretaries, 
Home Corresponding Secretaries, Recording 
Secretary, Treasurer and Board of Managers. 
In the committee-rooms of the parent society 
all the ends of the earth meet. Through the 
Home Corresponding Secretaries come the let¬ 
ters and reports from the auxiliaries throughout 
their boundaries, and through the Foreign Cor¬ 
responding Secretaries letters from the mission¬ 
aries in every country and from every clime. 


18773 Woman's Work for Woman. 315 

In those rooms these reports and letters are 
read, plans discussed, action taken as to pro¬ 
posed work, and prayer continually made for 
the blessing of God upon all. And from these 
rooms come the magazines, in which missionary 
letters are printed, thus bringing every woman 
of the Church into close relationship with the 
missionaries, and to those busy workers in the 
field go letters full of words of comfort and 
cheer. Once a week the Executive Committee 
meets, while the Board of Managers has a 
regular monthly meeting, and once a month a 
general prayer-meeting for missions is held. 

Auxiliaries .—“ The object of these,” says the 
second article in the constitution, “is to secure 
systematic contributions for foreign missions, 
and to disseminate missionary intelligence.” 
Their officers are similar, except in point of 
numbers, to those of the parent society, and 
the auxiliaries are expected to report annually 
to the parent society. “ The plan of many of 
these auxiliaries is to have monthly meetings of 
one hour, in which the promises of God are 
studied in regard to the evangelization of the 
world, with prayer and singing. The subjects 
recommended by the Assembly’s Board are 
taken in order, and papers are written and 
facts and items given, letters read, stations 
traced on maps, etc. At these meetings the 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1877 


: 16 


divine Master is always present, and often 
the hearts of the members burn within them. 
Think of the development and culture, intel¬ 
lectual, social and spiritual, possible to a band 
of Christian women steadily engaged in such 
a work, pursuing such themes and taking hold 
of omnipotent help for the perishing!” The 
funds are raised by each member paying a 
certain amount each month into the treasury, 
and a small amount for contingent expenses 
is often added to this by a trifling sum from 
each member. 

Then the young people and children are 
brought into the work. “ They are,” writes 
one from home, “as of yore, especially forward 
and especially honored in crowning the King.” 
In their mission-bands they hold meetings in 
which they have religious exercises, bring in 
information on the special topics of the month, 
hear letters read from missionaries or extracts 
from periodicals, present pictures, curiosities 
or anything adapted to shed light upon the 
customs of the country under consideration, 
introduce maps or charts to give the geograph¬ 
ical features of the country, bring historical 
facts in regard to the same, and vary the exer¬ 
cises by relating incidents, reciting missionary 
poems, or adding any variety of entertainment 
that may contribute to the pleasure and instrucT 


1877] Womans Work for Woman. 317 

tion of the hour. The little magazine, Chil¬ 
dren's Work for Children , is expressly designed 
for them. 

“ The Presbyterial organization,” says the 
pamphlet on that branch of the work, “ is the 
combination of the local missionary societies 
existing in churches forming a Presbytery for 
co-operative work of foreign missions.” The 
local societies are expected to send their dele¬ 
gates to the place where the meeting of Pres¬ 
bytery is held, and these delegates form a 
Presbyterial missionary society. This organiza¬ 
tion beautifully systematizes the whole work. 

“A Presbyterial society, working systemat¬ 
ically and feeling a responsibility for the cause 
within its own bounds, gains a thorough know¬ 
ledge of the condition of each church in regard 
to missionary work, consults as to the general 
good, gives necessary information, increases 
the circulation of missionary periodicals and 
letters, encourages and strengthens weak so¬ 
cieties, enlists interest, explains the best plans 
for systematic benevolence, and makes full re¬ 
ports through the secretary to the Board.” 

The interest aroused at the meetings is 
another blessing attending these organizations. 
It is earnestly recommended that the auxiliary 
societies, with “full accord,” report to their 
Presbyterial secretary and remit funds to their 
27 * 


3 18 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

Presbyterial treasurer; which course greatly 
simplifies the work of the secretaries and 
treasurers of the parent societies. 

The money from home comes to us in as 
direct a manner as possible, and with little or 
no diminution. The treasurer of the Presby¬ 
terian Board of Foreign Missions sends the 
mission treasurer drafts for the amount allowed 
to that mission. If any one has assumed the 
support of any special object in that mission, 
the money goes into the treaty of the Board, 
and helps pay the bill of exchange from which 
the sum contributed is drawn on the mission- 
field. Thus may any one see that the smallest 
contribution suffers no loss on its way to the 
field where it is to be used. Every mite goes 
into the treasury, and enters into the drafts 
drawn for the purposes of the work. 

It is unnecessary to say anything more to meet 
the query so often anxiously put, “What is to 
become of my donation ? Will it reach the 
object I have in view?” You may rest assured 
that your dollar will be faithfully applied accord¬ 
ing to your wishes. It will do its part in the 
great work ; it is a unit among the thousands, 
and is as efficient as any of the rest. All this 
applies, of course, to the amount asked for in 
the estimates of the mission and allowed by 
the Board—not to outside ones sent irrespect T 


18773 Womans Work for Woman. 319 

ive of this arrangement. For such special 
provision must be made. 

It is a good thing also that some one should 
be commissioned “to go from church to church, 
telling women about the missionary-field, form¬ 
ing societies among them, and urging them 
to come up to the help of the Lord, the help 
of the Lord against the mighty.’’ This should 
be considered a part of the regular work, and 
compensation allowed to those thus employed. 
Returned missionaries can in this and in other 
ways still work for the fields they love that 
are far away; and if any can thus be in¬ 
duced to care and to pray, a great deal will 
be gained. 

The annual meetings, when so many come 
together, are times when the friends who are 
interested in our work must take grand views 
over all the world. We out here have to be 
content with the reports of the secretaries, and 
with wishing ourselves there with them as they 
climb the mountain-tops. Oh, the views from 
thence must be grand and soul-inspiring! And 
then, too, the “ hour of prayer,” from 5 to 6 
p. m. on each Sabbath, is something which com¬ 
mends itself to us. 

I wonder sometimes if our constant cry, 
“ Pray for us! pray for us!” does not weary 
those to whom we write. To call for the 


320 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

prayers of so many of God’s people for one 
particular place is to ensure it a blessing. We 
feel more and more our dependence on God’s 
favor and upon the power of the Spirit. Our 
school-buildings may be destroyed and our 
churches laid low, but the word of God, sown 
in the heart and quickened by the Spirit, 
“abideth for ever.” 

We can see from all this how a mutual rela¬ 
tion is established between those in the field 
and those at home in working together, and 
together working with God. Wherever such 
relations exist, it is well to consider just what 
they are and what duties and benefits result 
from them. 

It is hardly strange that, as the work grows 
more absorbing in the mission-field, my heart 
turns with ever-increasing interest to those at 
home who are engaged in it. I feel like eager- 
ly questioning, “ Do all attend the missionary 
meetings ? Does every one take the maga¬ 
zines ? Are you gaining anything spiritually 
from your labors ? What is it that you are 
doing ? What are you endeavoring to accom¬ 
plish ? Do you now know something of how 
it all looks to your missionary in the field?” 

The new missionaries come out to us from 
you. It is so important that the right ones 
be sent, and so much hartji may be done by 


1877] Woman's Work for Woman. 321 

the selection of those who are not fitted for 
the work, that the responsibility seems almost 
overwhelming. Therefore let the whole Church 
waken to a sense of this, and continually ask 
of God that the choosers may be guided to 
make the right choice. At the meetings of 
the auxiliary societies, when the women go 
up to pray, let them make this one subject 
of special prayer. 

There are two ways in which women go out 
to the foreign field—as wives and as unmarried 
women, to teach in the schools or to do other 
special work. In the former case the choice 
does not devolve upon the societies, the mis¬ 
sionary himself being the one to make the 
proper selection. But in the other instance, and 
the one which involves a great deal more, the 
matter of choice falls on the society. Looking 
over all the missionary lands or listening to a 
cry for help, they see that some one is especial¬ 
ly needed for a certain field. Then an earnest, 
importunate prayer goes up to God for help, 
entreating him to send the right one. And 
how wonderfully those prayers have been an¬ 
swered those who made them can testify. 

Or perhaps some one whose heart is burn¬ 
ing with love for the heathen, and who feels 
the strong desire herself to go into the great 
white harvest-fields,, makes an application to 


322 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

the society. They see in her one eminently 
adapted to the work, and they wish to send 
her. Then another necessity for prayer arises 
in regard to her proper field, the time for her 
to go, the means required. These are the 
subjects for prayer; the one who wants to go 
must wait , and the waiting-time is trying. 

Let me say a word to such a one. You 
need to know almost everything in a foreign 
land; no knowledge can come amiss. I have 
needed to know how to make bread, and how 
to teach our servants all kinds of housework, 
and how to build fires. Once a man came to 
ask me to show him how to make a ther¬ 
mometer, which was quite out of my line of 
business. Let your waiting-time be spent part¬ 
ly in study, especially in study of the mission- 
work. 

Some apply to the society for appointment 
who are considered unfitted for the work. 
Let not such feel harshly toward any one on 
this account. If you are not adapted to the 
work, you would only be a hindrance to the 
cause you love. Only let it increase your 
zeal to do what you can at home. Let the 
Lord see, if no one else does, that beautiful 
flowers of patience, humility and increased 
love grow up out of your disappointment. 

With how great an interest must the Church 


1877] Womans Work for Woman. 323 

look on as one after another is chosen from 
the grand army to be sent to the outposts! 
The missionary having been chosen, the next 
thing is to provide the outfit. The servant 
of the Lord must be well equipped when she 
starts forth in the great work. It is necessary 
to be perfectly acquainted with the climate 
of the country to which the missionary goes, 
that everything may be suitable. This makes 
a great deal of correspondence necessary on 
the part of those who have the missionary’s 
outfit in charge. It is well to know just what 
can be procured to better advantage in the 
country to which she goes, or in what way 
expense may be saved. 

It may seem strange that most missionaries 
who live in tropical or semi-tropical climates 
suffer as much with the cold as they do with 
the heat, and sometimes even more. The large, 
airy houses, with their verandas and many win¬ 
dows, are better adapted for the heat than the 
cold, and we grow very sensitive, so that when 
damp, rainy days come the cold is very penetra¬ 
ting and we need the comfort of thick clothing. 
Most of us wear thicker clothing here in winter 
than we ever need at home, except in regard 
to outside wraps. It is usually warmer out 
of doors than it is in the house. But there 
are certain seasons of the year when we can- 


324 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

not bear to touch woolen clothing, so that both 
very thick and very thin clothing is necessary 
for the Japan winter and summer. 

The cabinet-organs which are sent by the 
societies are invaluable assistants in our work. 
We should hardly know how to get along with¬ 
out them. 

When the missionary is ready to leave, those 
who are sending her forth assemble to talk 
about the country to which she is going, to 
speak of the work she is to do, to sing and 
pray together, and then to say “ God bless 
you!” and “ Good-bye.” Those whom she 
meets along the way as she journeys toward 
the sea often desire to greet her, to encourage 
her and wish her all good things in the Lord, 
and some will accompany her “ unto the ship ” 
and watch until the gang-plank is lifted and 
the vessel is out at sea. All the Church will 
know about her going, because they will read 
the record in the missionary journal. And the 
missionary goes forth feeling that she has not 
only the presence of the Father, but also the 
tender, loving sympathy and the heartfelt pray¬ 
ers of his dear children. It is a blessed thing 
to go, and a blessed thing to help one in going, 
to do this God T given work. 

We want to hear no expressions of pity, for 
we count ourselves the happiest of mortals.. 


1877] Womans Work for Woman. 325 

Rather would we say, “ Rejoice with us, O our 
friends, for the King hath called us to the front 
of the battle. He hath chosen us to go out to 
take possession of fair lands in his name. Our 
eyes shall see and our lips shall tell wondrous 
things. For hath he not said, ‘ I will not fail 
thee, nor forsake thee. Only be thou strong 
and very courageous ’ ? ‘This book of the law 
shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou 
shalt meditate therein, day and night, that thou 
mayest observe to do according to all that is 
written therein, for thus shalt thou make thy 
way prosperous, then shalt thou have good 
success.’ ‘ Have not I commanded thee ? Be 
strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, 
neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy 
God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest.’ ” 
Do not overestimate our sacrifice. But 
what we do for the sake of the salvation of 
souls and extending the dominions of our 
King, with the rest and blessing of his pres¬ 
ence and the prospect of the certain sure 
reward, hundreds of others do for the sake 
of gain or fame, with no such Master to speak 
unto them “ comfortable words,” and with dis¬ 
appointment meeting them on every side. 
Read the history of the Spanish conquests, 
and especially the tales of the Roman Catholic 
missionaries, and you will see why we cannot 
28 


326 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

boast. Here, in most troublous times, there 
have always been others to share the dangers 
and loneliness of our exile, and I have often 
wondered how they have endured them with¬ 
out our faith and trust in God our Father’s 
loving care. 

This leads me to say something to mothers 
of missionaries—those who have sons and 
daughters in the field. You give your children 
up to dwell far from you in heathen lands. It 
is a great sacrifice, and we wonder not at your 
sadness. But they go from you safe in the 
Lord Jesus, even the heart of the Father’s 
kingdom. You know that at the most the 
separation is only lifelong, and that you have 
an eternity to spend together. You know 
that death, in whatever form it comes to them 
—whether by the sea or by fire or sword or 
pestilence—is only the King’s messenger, wel¬ 
come to them under any circumstances. 

Do you ever think how many mothers are 
mourning their prodigal sons and erring daugh¬ 
ters, wanderers from them in these foreign 
lands, from whom they never hear and who 
are treading the downward path ? Those who 
labor in the hospitals can tell you something 
about this. Therefore grieve not for your¬ 
selves, but rather pray for the mothers whose 
sorrow is so deep and apparently hopeless. 


1877] Woman's Work for Woman. 327 

And how often do we find that prayer for 
these wandering ones is answered! 

Another thought: Let the women who go up 
to the meetings remember that the lands to 
which the missionaries are sent have been for 
thousands of years in Satan’s indisputed pos¬ 
session, and that he is not going to give them 
up without a desperate struggle. Let them 
realize that the position is that of a little fee¬ 
ble band in the heart of the enemy’s coun¬ 
try, exposed to all the darts of the evil one. 
Then pray for us. We must have the pres¬ 
ence and blessing of our God, else “ how 
shall one chase a thousand, and two put ten 
thousand to flight ?” 

How eagerly you must watch for the mis¬ 
sionary journals, that you may read the ac¬ 
counts of the battles going on in these distant 
lands—the great battles between Truth and 
Error, between Light and Darkness, between 
God and Satan ! I think I can hear you saying 
to each other, “ There has been a great victory 
in Persia“ Soldiers are flocking to the stand¬ 
ard of the King in India“ Many in China 
and Japan have sought the shelter of the 
crossor, as you hear it from one place or 
another throughout the world, “A sinner hath 
repented, and we with angels rejoice.” Dear 
friends, we need your prayers. 


328 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

It is well that we are relieved from care 
concerning our support: we should not other¬ 
wise have time to devote to our work. And 
our salaries should be sufficient to enable us 
to live, with no burdens of debt to annoy us. 
We have burdens enouoffi without that. 

o 

Our comfortable, pleasant homes are pro¬ 
vided by the mission-boards. Thinking of 
this leads me to say something in regard to 
the missionary’s home. Sometimes I hear 
sneering remarks about the way in which mis¬ 
sionaries live, and persons at home receive 
wrong impressions concerning their houses 
and the number of their servants. It is best 
to look at the subject carefully and candidly, 
so that we may be able to answer any one 
who speaks in this way, or who has doubts on 
this subject. I do not believe that there is one 
of our missionary-circle, here or elsewhere, who 
would not cheerfully endure any hardship or 
toil for the sake of the cause, and a number 
of them could, if they would, tell tales of suffer¬ 
ing from cold and pain and weariness, and even 
from hunger and thirst. But the missionaries 
do not go out to win a martyr’s crown, but to 
do the Lord’s work in the best, wisest and 
most efficient way. 

There are two ways of working in the mis¬ 
sionary-field. One is by establishing a strong 


1877] Woman's Work for Woman. 329 

centre and making homes; the other, by the 
itinerant system—that of going from place to 
place, without any certain dwelling-place, scat¬ 
tering seed as the missionary travels. 

Native houses are not adapted to carrying 
on our work: they are too open and insecure. 
There are few who can endure the strain of 
living any length of time without relief, alone 
among the natives. Loss of health, of reason, 
and even of life itself, has been the result. 
And the natives do not understand or in any 
degree appreciate the sacrifice. We must 
bear in mind constantly one fact, and that is, 
the heathen cannot comprehend the idea of 
disinterested benevolence. They presume that 
there is always some selfish motive behind the 
apparent good-will. 

Nor do we want to be dragged down to a 
level with the heathen in our manner of life; 
we want them rather to be raised to our level, 
and wish, therefore, to show them the beauty 
of Christian homes. They are attracted to 
the mission-houses, whose doors are always 
open to receive them, and we show the women 
our beds, which are elevated from the floor, 
and our more cleanly and healthful way of 
using sheets, and they see that our bath-rooms 
are in a private corner of the house, not, as 
theirs, in the most conspicuous part, their bath- 
28 * 


330 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

tubs often at the front door. We teach them 
the advantage of having the house less open 
and the apartments more private and all the 
home-life more isolated. The missionary’s 
home is one of the refining things in a heathen 
land. But the houses must be adapted to the 
climate. We need them to be even larger, 
more open and airy, than those at home. And 
it is well that they look pleasant, with their ve¬ 
randas and large windows, and bright with 
flowers and sunshine. 

Most missionaries come from refined homes, 
and can throw an air of refinement over the 
native houses, even the mud walls of Persian 
homes. Muslin curtains, prettily draped, pic¬ 
tures and little keepsakes, flowers and vines, 
make the home pretty and attractive without 
extravagance. 

Missionary-women in heathen lands are very 
dependent upon their homes for all the pleas¬ 
ures they enjoy. Our work has no respite. 
We go on from month to month in the same 
routine, and, I often think, do not have enough 
of social enjoyment. The health of the mis¬ 
sionary must be considered. Every year of 
added experience makes the missionaries more 
valuable in the field, and we do not want them 
to die or to go home. Our Boards do well, 
then, to provide us with pleasant homes. 


1877] Woman's Work for Woman. 331 

But we often leave them and go out into 
the country and spend weeks, and even months, 
teaching the people and mingling with them— 
part of the year as itinerant missionaries, and 
part working from our strong mission-centre, 
sending out our native helpers, after patient 
instruction, and going with them often to su¬ 
perintend their labor. 

In these lands we need very nourishing food: 
the system soon becomes enervated in these 
warm climates. In regard to the servants of 
the missionary, we often hear surprise ex¬ 
pressed as to the number of them. Perhaps 
some even think that missionaries ought not 
to keep servants at all. It is necessary to have 
more servants here than we would need at 
home, for no one can labor much in these 
climates. Nor will one servant do more than 
one kind of work in this country. Our time 
and strength are too precious to spend in doing 
manual labor, which a small outlay will enable 
us to get natives to do. We came to do mis¬ 
sionary work, and must be free to do it. So 
a number of servants is necessary, and it must 
also be remembered that each native servant is 
one more brought under the influence of the 
gospel. But if the economy of the matter be 
in question, it may be a conclusive answer to 
the objector that the expense of three servants 


332 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1877 


here is barely equal to one-half the cost of one 
at home. I have often wished, however, that 
I could exchange my three or four servants for 
one good strong Irish woman. 

Besides the things provided for us here, 
some things come to us from home. When 
we hear in Tokio that the steamer has arrived 
at Yokohama, we know that only a few hours 
will intervene before our mail will come, and 
we wait for the postman’s call. How, think 
you, such words as these sound to us ?—“ If 
you can suggest any way in which the work 
you are doing can be aided by us, we hope 
you will do it. We rejoice in what God is 
doing for Japan.” And one says, “We want 
to help you,” and “ I pray that you in Japan 
may have all the grace and wisdom and might 
that you need for every part of the work.”— 
“ It seems to me that many are praying all 
over the world as never before, ‘ Thy kingdom 
come.’ “ You are in the field doing the work 
of the Lord. You need first his blessing, with¬ 
out which the laborer worketh in vain, and you 
must also feel the need of help and encourage¬ 
ment from home.”—“ It seems to me that there 
is much earnest prayer for the Holy Ghost in 
our land.” These are a few extracts from 
many letters. Do you not think such words 
strengthen us in these distant lands ? 


1877] Woman's Work for Woman. 333 

The magazines have their own special mis¬ 
sion to us here. They enable the missionaries 
in all fields to become acquainted with each 
other. Often, in taking up new phases of the 
work, I have read what my sisters older in mis¬ 
sionary-life have said in their letters concerning 
the same branches of the work, and have been 
profited. When the magazines come, particu¬ 
larly the one for children, portions of them are 
translated and read to our girls, and the result 
has been that they have formed a missionary- 
society themselves, and take up one country 
each month and prepare articles upon it, and 
pray for it especially. They have already 
learned a great deal about China missions, 
about Miss Dean’s school in Oroomia, of Miss 
Fisk’s life, and of Mrs. House’s school in Bang¬ 
kok. Our little children were much interested 
in the letter of “ Leek,” a girl in the Bangkok 
school, and began a quilt like the one she men¬ 
tioned. 

“Do the women of your country support 
missionaries in every part of the world ?” asked 
a Japanese gentleman. “ Oh yes,” was the an¬ 
swer ; “ here is their book. Do you not see 
the letters in it from India, Siam, China, Per¬ 
sia and Japan ? When will the women of your 
country do such things ?”—“ When this religion 
spreads through all the world.” 


334 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

You would like to see our Christian girls 
gathered for these missionary-meetings in a 
room in this great heathen city, with idols and 
idolaters all around them. It brings to my 
mind Paul’s salutation to the Christian women 
of Rome: “ Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, 
who labor in the Lord. Salute the beloved 
Persis, which labored much in the Lord. Greet 
Mary, who bestowed much labor upon us.” 

Will the societies, auxiliaries and bands listen 
for a little while to some words from one in the 
field? We think we appreciate in some degree 
the difficulties and responsibilities of those who 
have the work in charge, the officers of our so¬ 
cieties. We wish you had telescopes through 
which you might look at us, but, since you 
have not, we want our letters to be fair, impar¬ 
tial statements concerning the state of things 
here. 

We wish to be very careful how we call upon 
you for help. But we are sure that the mere 
stating to you the difficulties which we meet is 
one way by which those difficulties may be 
overcome in great measure in the present 
and avoided in the future. Even when we 
are called to pass through the “fiery furnace,” 
you will in some measure share our suffer¬ 
ings, but we shall all rejoice together at the 
full deliverance. 


18772 Woman! s Work for Woman. 335 

We are sure of your aid in every difficul¬ 
ty, of your sympathy in every experience, and 
of your joy in all our victories. But let us all 
remember that far above all Boards and com¬ 
mittees are the eternal purposes of God. 
Great difficulties resolve themselves, or our 
Father gradually unravels them if we are only 
patient and wait. 

The auxiliaries which provide the missionary’s 
salary take her and her work as a special sub¬ 
ject of prayer. Let them often write to her, 
expecting only an occasional answer in return. 
We are often pressed for time, but we want 
to let you hear from us, and will write when 
we can. Often, when great issues are at hand, 
we feel constrained to write directly to the pa¬ 
rent society, but be sure that you are not for¬ 
gotten by us. 

In regard to the societies and bands who 
are supporting Bible-readers and the pupils 
in the schools, let me say something in regard 
to what is called “ special work ”—that is, the 
support of any particular person or child in a 
mission. No doubt it is pleasanter for you to 
feel that you have some particular person under 
your cafe. You want to hear of her, receive 
letters from her and know just what she is 
doing, and it seems right that you should do 
so. But when you take certain things into 


336 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

consideration, I am sure you will see how 
impossible it often is to give you such a special 
object, and how it may prove rather a hindrance 
than a help to the missionary in her work. 
For instance, a band has a little heathen girl 
in school here or elsewhere. It (the band) 
wants to know something about her, and this 
necessitates frequent writing on the part of 
the missionary; nor is it always easy to find 
something interesting to write concerning these 
apathetic little Asiatics. 

But this is not the greatest difficulty, by any 
means. We are liable to constant changes— 
changes in our pupils, in our plans of work. 
What might seem best one month may look 
differently the next, or the child who might 
appear suitable at one time might prove to be 
one whom we could not keep, or we might find 
out things concerning her which would render 
any support from home unnecessary. Or the 
child might prove to be very naughty or dull, 
and we should not like to write such news 
home. And these things are not merely sup- 
posable cases. They are what have occurred 
under my own eye. One of our missionaries 
has said that she did not dare to write any¬ 
thing home about our fluctuating mission, for 
by the time it got back to her it was not true. 
Of course this applied simply to what are the 


1877] Woman s Work for Woman. 337 

mere incidents or contingencies of the work, 
the minor occurrences of the day. 

I remember we once had a hearty laugh 
at one of our missionaries who began a letter 
by speaking of her “ good teacher,” and how 
fortunate it was that she had him, and had to 
end it by saying that he had gone she knew 
not where. I myself once wrote to one of the 
ladies’ Boards, asking them to take charge of 
a woman whom I had in training as a Bible- 
reader, and when the ready answer came the 
woman was far beyond my reach, and I had 
only to write and say so. 

We like the scholarship system much better, 
and sometimes yve can keep one child on a 
scholarship for a long time, and thus give those 
who endowed it an opportunity to become 
acquainted with her. And we want to have 
the natives depend upon themselves, so that 
just as soon as we can dispense with the schol¬ 
arship we may do so, or take one child off and 
put another in her place in rapid succession. 
We do not want what is designed as a help to 
become a hindrance to our work. 

One specialty is the teacher employed by the 
missionary when acquiring the language. At 
first these teachers do little more than instruct 
us, but afterward we have them as helpers in 
various branches of our work. Their salaries 

29 w 


338 The Suni'ise Kingdom. [1877 

must come from the Board. Another very 
important specialty is providing means for 
our journeyings for mission-purposes. Few of 
us can afford to pay this out of our salaries, 
and we do not go so often as we might were 
it otherwise. So one thing you can do is to 
provide means for the missionary to travel by 
jin-ri-ki-sha, ka-go, horse, camel, or even ele¬ 
phant, as the case may be. 

Give your money regularly and systemat¬ 
ically to the treasurer, and it will go to the 
parent society, and it will know what is 
needed and where it is needed. And do not 
cling to your “special work;” for if you can 
have any, I cannot. My plans and purposes 
are frequently broken off, and it only makes it 
all the harder for me when any one else is dis¬ 
appointed, especially if it be any of the young 
people or little children. We are glad the 
young girls and the boys are interested in 
our work, and the dear little children must 
know all we can tell them about our little ones. 

You cannot give in the Lord’s cause with¬ 
out receiving tenfold, and as you read of us 
in these missionary-lands you must realize 
your own privileges. Oh, church-women at 
home, what a mighty army do you seem to 
us ! Surely every one in your land is taught 
of Jesus. You do not have to wait month 


1877] Woman's Work for Woman. 339 

after month to learn a strange tongue before 
you can begin to teach the heavenly language 
or the new song. You never had to see your 
pupils tremble before the death-penalty or 
come to you in danger of persecution. You 
do not need to hide your Bibles under your 
pillows, as I have done, because the volumes 
are so scarce. How rich you are in Christian 
literature! You can scatter it over all the 
land. If we had your numbers and your ma¬ 
terial, in a few days all Japan would know of 
the Lord. See that you rightly value and 
rightly use your privileges. 

You are brought into close contact with 
other lands. Their geography, history and 
present state and progress grow familiar to 
you. What an education for your children, 
and indeed for yourselves! Is not your faith 
strengthened by what you see is being done 
in these lands ? 

Come, let us take these heathen women 
with us to the sepulchre. Point out to them 
the cross and the empty tomb. Ask the Lord 
to call each one by her name, and to open 
her ears that she may hear his voice and call 
him “ Master.” See her now bathed in the 
fountain, clothed in new garments, white and 
clean! Is it not a change ? But stay yet 
longer. This is the “ Morning Land.” The 


34° The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

grass is glittering with dew; the birds have 
only just begun their song; everything is fresh 
and bright. Come drink with these women at 
the very Fountain-head. See if the waters are 
not to your taste exceedingly pure and sweet. 
Perhaps some of you have forgotten somewhat 
your first delight in drinking of the water; per¬ 
haps some have gone too far away from the 
Source; the water may be mixed with some¬ 
thing else. Let us all kneel and drink at the 
Fountain-head with our new-born sisters, hea¬ 
then but a little while ago. 



CHAPTER II. 


“ THE CHRISTIAN’S SHINING LIGHT.” 

“ With a pure clear light 
Jesus bids us shine, 

You in your small corner, 

And I in mine.” 

I SOMETIMES wonder how it is that many 
people have such crude ideas in regard to 
missionaries and the mission-work. In letters 
questions are often put which show us that 
friends at home are vainly trying to picture us 
in these far-off lands. They wonder how we are 
living and what we are wearing and eating and 
drinking, and seem to imagine that some great 
change has taken place in us as well as about 
and around us, and I feel like saying, “ Dear 
friends, I am just myself; and my home is just 
as much like the one in our own land as we can 
make it; and we eat, drink and wear about the 
same things that we should at home; and the 
work seems all alike to me. It is only that I 
am here, and you there. You are to shine in 
your corner, and I in mine.” 

But I recall my own childish fancies about 

29 * 341 


34 2 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

# 

missionaries as people going about in boats 
among islands, or teaching savages under 
palm trees—beings entirely different from ordi¬ 
nary mortals—and then I look about me, my¬ 
self a missionary in this strange land, and smile 
to think how different it all is from anything I 
had imagined, and yet how much more is in¬ 
volved than all those childish fancies had con¬ 
ceived. And it is only now, after years in the 
field, when the surroundings have grown per¬ 
fectly familiar to me, and the language is as 
easily spoken and understood as my own native 
tongue, that the similarity of the work here 
and as it is, or ought to be, at home impresses 
me, and I must go back to note the difference. 

In the old days of pioneer missionary-life, 
in the times of isolation from our own country¬ 
men and of dwelling among a strange people 
speaking a strange tongue, one could realize 
vividly the full import of the words which the 
Lord spoke unto Abraham, saying, “ Get thee 
out of thy country, and from thy people, and 
from thy Father’s house, into a land which I 
shall show thee.” At night, looking up to the 
sky, full of stars as when the Lord called Abra¬ 
ham forth to look at them, and said, “ So shall 
thy seed be,” and then gazing down upon the 
pleasant land which we know is promised to 
the Son for his inheritance, the house in which 


1877] “The Christian's Shining Light!' 343 

we were living seemed turned into a tent, and 
we ourselves as Abraham dwelling in the 
“ Promised Land,” though having none inherit¬ 
ance in it, and yet, like him, rejoicing in the 
assurance that it should be ours. But not 
bidden, as was Abraham, to keep separate 
from the nations around us, we had come to 
tell the people of the Saviour whose day Abra¬ 
ham rejoiced to see; and fair though the land 
be in which as strangers we were now sojourn¬ 
ing, yet faith taught us to look for a “ better 
country,” and we had come to point out to the 
dwellers here the way to that heavenly land. 
So we mingle with them to learn about their 
country and their character, their manners and 
customs, and, above all, to speak and under¬ 
stand their language. And to accomplish these 
things is the first great aim of the missionary. 

We have found Japan a pleasant land in 
which to dwell, and the climate one in which 
foreigners can, under ordinary circumstances, 
live a long while without serious injury to the 
constitution. Earthquakes have rocked our 
homes and tempests have swept over us, but 
we have been kept from harm through all. 
We have traveled in the country, and have 
eagerly seized every opportunity of becoming 
acquainted with the character of the people 
among whom we work, that we may know how 


344 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

to deal with them. We Christian women who 
are here to labor among the Japanese women 
must know the natures of those with whom we 
come in contact. These women have always 
been kind and pleasantly disposed. Almost 
the first word I had to learn was “Arigato” 
(“Thank you”), and ever since that morning, 
a few days after we landed at Yokohama, 
when a woman on the bluff put a morning- 
glory into my hand, I have had to use that 
word constantly. 

The women have shallow, undeveloped minds, 
with blunted ideas of truth and virtue, but they 
are capable of a high degree of culture, and 
work among them is very satisfactory in its 
results. 

This constant contact with inferior minds, 
this continual giving out and receiving nothing 
in return, the feeling that years—even the best 
years—of our life are slipping away and we are 
gaining nothing intellectually,—these are among 
the greatest trials to which a missionary here is 
subjected. But we can afford to give when we 
work with One who gave his life for us “ while 
we were yet sinners,” and who now gives lib¬ 
erally to supply all our needs, asking only our 
loving service in return. 

We familiarize ourselves with the manners 
and customs of the people by mingling with 




1877] “The Christian's Shining Light!' 345 

them. We take off our shoes, sit down on 
the mats and drink tea with them. We let 
bows and smiles and signs take the place of 
words at first. We greet kindly the little chil¬ 
dren, and find our way to the mothers’ hearts 
through the babes. We watch them in the 
temples and in their gardens and their homes, 
joining with them as we can. In this way we 
learn the language. There is no way to learn 
how to speak a language but to speak it. 
We must use our vocabularies over and over 
until we see that the words we use are under¬ 
stood, nor mind if they are not right at first. 
We cannot learn the spoken language from 
teachers altogether—for in that way we should 
get a stiff form of expression—but we must 
listen to the people and try to talk as they do. 

The Japanese colloquial is not difficult. The 
pronunciation is easier to us than that of French 
or German. The many forms of the language 
and the honorific expressions and euphonic 
changes are troublesome, but we soon learn 
to use them. We make many ludicrous blun¬ 
ders at first, but we profit by our own mistakes 
and try again. If any one asks us how long it 
took to learn the language, I have to say that I 
do not know, for we are always learning some¬ 
thing new, and never feel that we have perfectly 
acquired the language. It takes years of resi- 


346 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1877 


dence in this country to be able to speak like a 
native, if indeed one ever does it. 

As to the written language, it is well to learn 
as quickly as possible how to read the Scrip¬ 
ture and the hymn-book, tracts, etc., which are 
published by the mission. In them all one set 
of characters is used, and they are not very diffi¬ 
cult. It is well to read, or at least to know about, 
Japanese books, but one may take this leisurely, 
as it is not essential. The Japanese literature 
drains the mind without enriching it. 

I wish I could impress upon every new mis¬ 
sionary the importance of giving a year, or even 
two years, to study before she undertakes any 
special work in the field. Only those who have 
experienced it know what it is to be obliged to 
strain every nerve to understand or to be un¬ 
derstood, and this while other cares are press¬ 
ing also. If some time is devoted at first to 
study, it affords the new missionary an oppor¬ 
tunity to become acclimated and acquainted 
with the people, and to learn exactly to what 
sphere of missionary-life she is best adapted, 
thus avoiding the troubles which arise from 
mistakes in beginning things not advisable or 
for which the missionary is not qualified. If 
too much time is spent on other things in the 
beginning, the language will never be really 
learned, and the consequence will be that the 


1877] “The Christian's Shining Light'.' 347 

missionary will always labor at a disadvantage. 
“ Learn the language! learn the language!” 
the old missionaries and all who know any¬ 
thing about the work will say to the new 
worker in the field. Spend your first ener¬ 
gies on it, and while doing so study the 
people, learn the character of your fellow- 
missionaries ; watch carefully their work, and 
then you will fall naturally into your proper 
sphere and find your work comparatively easy 
and pleasant. 

The relations w r hich the missionary as such 
sustains are three: (1) To the Board and 
the society by whom she is sent, (2) to her fel¬ 
low-missionaries, and (3) to the heathen. The 
relation of the foreign missionary to the Board 
is that of “ one sent ” far off into the enemy’s 
country by the grand army at home. They 
send us out well equipped for our work. They 
care for us when here by prayer, sympathy and 
money as we need. It is our duty, therefore, 
to send home reports of the land and the peo¬ 
ple, and of our own welfare and progress in the 
work. If we do not, how can we expect them 
to keep up their interest in us ? How can they 
know wherein we require aid, or how to pray 
for and sympathize with us, if we do not tell 
them? They must follow us through our jour- 
neyings and our first experiences in foreign 


348 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

lands, and labor with us as the years go on 
and our work and interests broaden and 
deepen. And this makes letter-writing a 
duty. We are brought into correspondence 
with the foreign secretary of the parent soci¬ 
ety, with the secretary of the auxiliary that 
provides our support, and with the societies 
and bands that sustain scholarships in our 
schools, or Bible-readers whose work we 
superintend. Besides these, a number of 
letters come to us from others who wish to 
know something about our work or make 
inquiries about some particular branch of it. 

As the parent society has all the work of 
the auxiliaries under its care, and the most 
important or interesting of the letters are 
published or in some way disseminated, much 
writing may be spared the missionary by send¬ 
ing all communications direct to the secretary 
of the parent society with whom she is in 
correspondence. Letters can be sent through 
her to the auxiliary societies or to individuals, 
or special items designated in the general let¬ 
ter to the Board will be copied and given to 
those who are specially interested. The sec¬ 
retary can thus relieve the missionary from 
too great a pressure of letter-writing. 

But since this letter-writing must be done, 
it is best to consider the easiest way of ac- 


1877] “ The Christian's Shining Lights 349 

complishing it; and I have always found it 
best to set apart a small portion of each day 
—perhaps only a half hour—for this purpose, 
regarding it as much of a duty as anything 
else, and in this way, without interfering with 
other things, I have easily kept up a large 
correspondence. It is well to note down 
little passing events which will be of interest 
to people at home, and to watch for every¬ 
thing which will add interest or value to our 
letters. Every one earnest in her work will 
throw her earnestness into her letters, and 
thus Set on fire the hearts of the people at 
home. 

When several missionaries are engaged at 
one station, what is called the “ mission ” is 
formed. Every member of the mission has 
his or her part to take in the work. There 
are mission-meetings once a month, when the 
state and progress of the work are discussed. 
For these meetings reports are made out and 
estimates of expense given, and plans for en¬ 
largement or change in work are examined, 
and if approved by the mission are sent on 
to the Board at home. 

It is not always that the members of a mis¬ 
sion agree in all things, neither are they always 
perfectly congenial companions. Nor is it ex¬ 
pected that they should be such, for we come 
30 


35 ° 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1877 


here unacquainted with each other, often with 
different tastes and opinions. Our imperfectly- 
sanctified human natures make us liable to err 
in many instances. 

“Ye are the light of the world.’’ “A city 
which is set upon a hill cannot be hid.” Thus 
spoke the Lord Jesus to the disciples who oc¬ 
cupied as missionaries the same position that 
we do. It seems to me that no Christians 
dwell on such high hills as do missionaries. 
When we assume the duties of our office we 
voluntarily go up into them, there to take a 
high position. 

The eyes of the heathen are upon us. More 
than we think do they comment upon every ac¬ 
tion and word. When the city is divided, they 
know it; when the- lights are dim, they know it. 
The eyes of those of our own land who sneer- 
at our work are upon us, quick to see and glad 
to find anything by which they can gain some 
occasion for reviling or reproach. And the 
Church at home has high ideas in regard to 
what should be our self-renouncement and the 
consecration of missionaries, though ready to 
admit that we are but human. It is necessary, 
then, that there be not even an appearance of 
division in our city. And we who dwell there¬ 
in, and those who come up to join our ranks, 
must be very careful to avoid all causes of dis- 


1877] “The Christian's Shining Light!' 351 

sension. We must see to it that each member 
has his or her appropriate work, and that there 
is no unnecessary interference on the part of 
one with another. And especially should So¬ 
cieties and Boards, as they send out new mis¬ 
sionaries, be very careful to ascertain their cha¬ 
racteristics in this respect, and to make such 
arrangements beforehand, if possible, that there 
be no trespassing upon or intrusion into the 
sphere already occupied by those who have 
preceded. Never should anything be allowed 
by which rivalry or jealousy may be fostered. 
Are they not all one, working for the same 
Lord, the same glorious end, and should strife or 
bitterness ever exist? “Let your light so shine 
before men, that they may see your good works, 
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” 

The third relation of the missionary is to the 
heathen. To my mind, there are four distinct 
phases of “woman’s work for woman” in the 
foreign field. The first is that of woman in the 
home. The Christian wife can show to the 
heathen that she is trusted by her husband and 
stands on an equality with him. One of the 
first things noticed by the people is that the 
wife walks beside her husband, and not behind 
him. We can show them that we do not need 
to blacken our teeth or otherwise disfigure 
ourselves as they do in order to render our 


352 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

husbands secure concerning us, nor do we 
need certificates from them to prove that we 
are not running away when we go from home 
for a few days. 

There are so many beautiful things in a Jap¬ 
anese household in regard to the management 
of children and their obedience and respect to 
parents that a Christian mother needs to be 
careful that her own children are trained, in 
these respects, as well as those in the families 
around. But the infinite superiority of real 
Christian training can be shown to the heathen, 
and the beauty of a truly Christian household 
will not be lost upon them. 

As a housekeeper there is much—very much 
—to be shown to the heathen—as, for instance, 
the advantage of regular habits and the value 
of time-—and we can rebuke their indolent, 
aimless lives by our own better example. 

No one need think that a missionary, in 
making the one great sacrifice, is free from 
all lesser trials, for we have here, just as house¬ 
keepers do at home, our own troubles with 
servants, and have great need of patience in 
this respect. When we first came here the 
servants knew nothing of our ways, and had 
to be taught everything. They did not know 
how to use a stove, and always wanted to 
kindle a fire under one hole and cook every- 


1877] “The Christians Shining Light!' 353 

thing separately, beginning with potatoes early 
in the morning, setting them in a corner of the 
room to cool, and then putting on something else. 
They wanted to do everything down on the 
floor, spreading things around in all directions. 
They never stole anything of consequence, 
but would take wood out of the stove for char¬ 
coal. We have to do all the thinking and 
planning for them, as they have no idea of 
method in their work. The missionary house¬ 
keeper needs the prayers of her sisters at 
home for grace and patience in this part of 
her life. 

Most of the unmarried ladies who are sent 
out have the charge of schools or are in some 
way connected with them. It is remarkable 
how mission-schools have been prospered. In 
Japan all our work has been developed from 
them. They were the beginning of the church. 

The aim of the foreign teacher in the school 
is to train teachers and Bible-women and wives 
for native Christians. This means a great deal, 
and there is need for special prayer that the 
Lord will send the right ones into the school. 
This is our prayer: “Dear Lord, thou knowest 
the needs of this land ; thou knowest thy gra¬ 
cious purposes concerning it. Send into this 
school those who will receive the truth and 
become truly enlightened, and thus be fitted 

30 * X 


354 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

in after-years to go forth to labor among the. 
people.” 

The school-system here has become rather 
complicated, owing to the fact that English is 
so extensively used, and we had for a long 
time no native text-books. At first the girls 
came only to read English, and we translated 
it as best we could, but afterward we found 
that more was necessary, especially when 
boarders came into the house. So we have 
now an English department, in which only 
pronunciation is taught; translation classes, 
where a Japanese who understands English 
takes charge of the translation; and a Jap¬ 
anese department, which includes Chinese writ¬ 
ing. Japanese teachers were not such strict 
disciplinarians at first as we desired, but they 
are learning better our style of teaching, and 
as native text-books are made they will be 
more extensively used. Music is also taught, 
and fancy-work. 

Japan is said to be a paradise for teachers 
as well as for babies. The children are indeed 
docile and gentle, but still we have our difficul¬ 
ties. Sometimes we wish they had more en¬ 
ergy, and we try to stir up a spirit of emula¬ 
tion among them. Long and hard has been 
the contest to make them give up their way 
of dealing by indirect means, and to have 


1877] “The Christian's Shining Light'S 355 

them come directly to their teachers with 
their wants and complaints, and to infuse a 
love of truth into their natures. 

Frequent illness among the pupils has been 
one great difficulty with which we have had to 
contend. They require great care physically 
as w r ell as mentally, and a teacher often has 
to play the part of a nurse. But as scholars 
they have some very good traits. They have 
great respect and reverence for teachers. 
They are studious to a fault. It is hard to 
induce them to take proper exercise and rec¬ 
reation. Their tuition-fee has always been 
paid promptly. They are neat about every¬ 
thing. Some are capable of a high degree 
of culture, and all repay their teacher for the 
care given to them. Happy years have been 
these spent in the mission-school. 

Beautiful to the Christian woman is the next 
department of work for woman—that among 
the native women of the church. We see 
that they come to the Bible classes and to the 
church-services, and grow strong to walk in the 
narrow way. This includes the work among the 
O Ba sans—the old and feeble ones of the 
church—and also the leading and guiding of 
the baptized children, helping their mothers in 
training them, and exercising a watchful care 
over the little ones of the mission-school. 


356 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

True, the work is often discouraging, it is 
with such feeble, faltering steps that they some¬ 
times walk. And yet we have great happiness 
in this part of our work, for we can watch the 
timid ones grow strong and mark the develop¬ 
ment of their Christian character as they go on. 
Happy they who see, as we have been permit¬ 
ted to do in Japan, the first-fruits offered unto 
God! 

Another part of the work is the sowing of 
the seed broadcast, in the distribution of the 
printed page, the word spoken to the individ¬ 
ual, the meetings for instruction—like those in 
Gen-ske-cho—the work of the Bible-woman, the 
going forth to sow. We can pray, and those 
at home who are interested in our work can 
unite with us in prayer, that God will prepare 
the ground. Then forth to the work we go, 
carrying, as it were, seed-basket in one hand 
and sword in the other, for while we work we 
must also fight. In faith is the seed dropped, 
in sure reliance that it will be watched over by 
the Lord, to whom it is so precious. 

We have considered the change of home, the 
relations and the duties of the missionary; now 
the qualifications for all this are but clear deduc¬ 
tions. Since the missionary leaves her “ coun¬ 
try” and her “ father’s house,” and goes to dwell 
among a strange people, speaking a strange 


iS 77 ] “The Christians Shining Light 357 

tongue, being isolated from her own country¬ 
men, she must be one who has found in God her 
home, in God her everlasting rest. I repeat, 
she must be one who has found rest, not one, 
who comes expecting to find a rest here which 
she does not possess at home. For I know of 
some who have come to foreign lands thinking 
to gain in absorbing work relief from their own 
unrest. We do not find “absorbing work” at 
first. We have sometimes to wait long before 
we do find it, and the experience of most of us 
is that at home our time seemed more fully oc¬ 
cupied and our work more important than it did 
here during our years of waiting before we could 
talk or before we found out just what our work 
was. 

In the long journey, during the process of 
acclimation and in the endurance of discom¬ 
forts falling to our lot in traveling through 
this land, we find a cheerful disposition is ne¬ 
cessary, as well as good health. Travel in 
Japan is not so hard a matter as in some 
other heathen countries, as the Japanese are 
a cleanly people, and, with the exception of 
fleas (a disagreeable exception, to be sure), 
there are but few vermin. I have read, in one 
of the books of the missionary literature of 
Persia, a statement of the writer to the effect 
that he had seen ladies who had borne brave- 


358 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

ly many trials and much pain give way under 
this affliction. 

Neither do we suffer from the thieving pro¬ 
pensities of the natives as do the missionaries 
in other lands. We sleep quite fearlessly at 
night in the open houses, with all our baggage 
in straw baskets without lock or key. But we 
travel in jin-ri-ki-shas and ka-gos, and sleep on 
the floor, and grow weary without the accus¬ 
tomed luxury of chairs and tables, and we 
creep on hands and knees into the boats and 
cling desperately to the necks of natives who 
are carrying us through the water. And well 
is it if we can laugh at our discomforts and 
take pleasure enough in the natural beauties 
around us to compensate for all we may have 
suffered. 

Since the missionary gains nothing, morally 
or intellectually, from those among whom she 
lives, she must go to her work with a good 
supply of both moral and intellectual strength. 
Abraham’s strong faith, Job’s patience, Moses’ 
meekness, and all the histories of those “who 
through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought right¬ 
eousness, obtained the promises,” and of the 
women, also, who “ received their dead raised 
to life again,” are things familiar to us all our 
lives. Paul’s missionary-life is ours for an 
example, and above all we can “look unto 


1877] “The Christian's Shining Light!' 359 

Jesus,” “who for the joy that was set before 
him endured the cross, despising the shame.” 
“ What do you do,” said one missionary to 
another one day, “ when you are tried by the 
hypocrisy, and sometimes the ingratitude, of 
this people?”—“I consider,” was the answer— 
“ I consider ‘ Him who endured such contradic¬ 
tion of sinners against ^himself.’ ” 

And not only these, but the names of those 
with whom history makes us familiar, who have 
toiled and suffered and accomplished wonder¬ 
ful things, are “ towers of strength ” to us. 
So it is well that the missionary comes to her 
work acquainted with the history of the world, 
and with a well-balanced, well-regulated mind. 
We all know how this is attained only by a 
thorough education of all the mental faculties. 

And well is it also, for the one who comes, 
to have means of recreation within herself. I 
love to see the missionary coming who is fond 
of flowers, of music and of beautiful scenery, 
or even of fancy needle-work; for I know how 
these things will help her in her isolated life. 
The question is often asked, “ Does the know¬ 
ledge of other languages help you in learning 
the Japanese ?” It does not, in one sense, 
when the other languages are not cognate, 
but learning any one language always helps in 
another, as our minds are strengthened by the 


360 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

discipline of study, and we become accustomed 
to memorizing isolated words and to the trans¬ 
position of sentences. 

In order to find our way to the hearts of the 
people, a winning, kind manner is a necessity. 
One needs to be able to sit down with them 
on their mats, and to drirfk hot tea without 
choking, and swallow down unpalatable things 
without, making faces. The Japanese food is 
not greasy, as is that of other countries of 
which I have read, and consequently to me 
was never actually distasteful. But I never 
could learn to use chopsticks. 

Since the relation of missionaries to each 
other is one often calling forth much grace 
and patience, it is well that the missionary be 
one with no peculiarities to be humored. 
The mutual /elation of missionaries brings 
out these personal peculiarities and idiosyn¬ 
crasies in a very strong light. One long in the 
mission-field says, “ There is always some dread 
in welcoming new missionaries. Sometimes 
they bring with them sorrow instead of joy. 
It is so important that they be well chosen— 
even chosen of God. Then they will be 
happy under all circumstances, ‘working for 
God.’ ” 

Therefore let the new missionary—one “cho¬ 
sen of God ” and pointed out by him in answer 


>§77] “The Christian's Shining Light!’ 361 

to the prayers of the Church—go to her field 
prepared to wait to find out just what her place 
is, or to take that which is designated for her 
by the older missionaries, and, even if not 
satisfied, be still content to wait. And in the 
choice and occupation of her field, let it be 
with the spirit of Abraham, who said, “ If thou 
wilt take the left hand, I will go to the right; 
or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will 
go to the left.” The work is one—“ you in your 
corner, and I in mineno rivalry, no discus¬ 
sion of diverse interests as such. Consider 
the words of John the Baptist in his deep hu¬ 
mility : “ He must increase, while I must de¬ 
crease and the beloved disciple speaks only 
of love. 

The missionary, then, needs patience, know¬ 
ledge, faith, habits of method and regularity, so 
that one duty will not press upon another; and 
if she come as teacher, she should be acquaint¬ 
ed with the best modes of instruction at home, 
and a good disciplinarian, or, what is better still, 
one who rules by love. 

It is important that at least one in a school 
should have a good knowledge of music, and, 
indeed, every accomplishment can be made 
helpful in bringing scholars to the school, and 
so under our influence. Some knowledge of 
medicine is also a desirable qualification for a 


362 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

missionary. And in the Church we need those 
not easily discouraged, not disposed to find fault 
readily, and who will know how to utilize every 
spark of native talent. We need the very spirit 
of the Lord Jesus, who ever looked with pitying 
eye upon the “multitudes”—who loved th z peo¬ 
ple. To me one of the most beautiful of all the 
gospel narratives is the one recorded in Mark 
vi. 31-34. The Lord had said to his disciples, 
“ Come ye yourselves into a desert place, and 
rest a while,” for “ they had no leisure so much 
as to eat.” But when they came to the “ desert 
place,” there before them were the “multitudes,” 
and Jesus “ was moved with compassion.” How 
this comes home to our hearts as we are press¬ 
ed and called on every side, and find so little 
leisure ! 

But just as the ears are sometimes opened to 
hear sweet melody in what at first seemed all 
discord, so, as the years of missionary-life go 
on and we come nearer to our Lord’s side, fol¬ 
lowing him in work among the poor and lowly, 
and going down with him into the depths of 
misery, are the eyes opened to see the exceed¬ 
ing beauty of the human soul. In our work we 
find the very essence of beauty, and a light has 
poured into our own souls which we never knew 
before. “ If any one will do my will, he shall 
know of the doctrine.” 


1877] “The Christian!s Shining Light!' 363 

These characteristics, these acquirements, 
these tempers of mind and soul, are not mere 
theories nor wild vagaries; they are just what 
we have felt ourselves to need in this land. 
Therefore let the one who possesses them, or 
most of them, consecrate them unto the Lord. 
Not all are really fitted for the missionary-work 
who may be devoted servants of the Lord. 


“ With a pure clear light 
Jesus bids us shine. 
You in your small comer, 
And I in mine.” 


The heathen see the clear shining of that 

light. When D-first came to the mission- 

house, she brought her idols with her, but 
long before any one spoke to her on religious 
subjects she threw them away: “I watched 
the Christians as they spent their time from 
morning until night in working for others, and 
I never saw anything like it before, so I threw 
my idols into the bay.” O Ka san said, “ I 
never knew anything like the care of these 
Christian teachers in the school. It is wonder¬ 
ful.”—“ Grandma,” said little four-year-old Sen- 
ki to old Hisa, “ the love of the Christians is not 
like the love of the Japanese.” And said one 
of the girls, “ The love of the Christian is deep¬ 
er than ours.”—“We thought our teacher would 




364 The Sunrise Kingdom . [1877 

be sick,” said the girls, alluding to a grief of 
which they knew. But no; the teacher showed 
them that God was her strength and her refuge. 
Endurance in trial, courage in danger, self-for¬ 
getfulness in life, patience in sickness, triumph 
in death,—all these can be shown to the hea¬ 
then by Christian women. 

I wish to testify to the happiness of a mis¬ 
sionary devoted to her work. There is no one 
happier in the world. And we who are here 
acknowledge that in the gospel we find a vigor, 
a freshness and a joyousness never before expe¬ 
rienced in such degree. From the home-land 
come the evidences that some do depart from 
the faith, that some are doubting, that some 
deem themselves too wise for the gospel, but 
in our “ Morning Land,” in our “ Sunrise King¬ 
dom,” we find rest and peace and strength and 
joy in Jesus. We are glad to be here. 



CHAPTER III. 


THE REGIONS BEYOND. 


“ Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth 
laborers into his harvest.” 


IFE here is earnest and practical. We 



J_ j have no time for theory or dreams. Day 

after day goes on in the same busy routine ; 
every hour brings its own employment. There 
are little simple every-day duties in the house, 
the teaching and governing of children in the 
schoolroom, attending to some sick one’s wants, 
or going out with Deguchi san or one of the 
girls to Gen-ske-cho, or to sow the seed else¬ 
where. And all this is sweetened and glorified 
by the fact that we are serving the Lord, and 
are receiving the “hundred fold.” 

But we are never so busy that we cannot 
often “ lift up our eyes ” to the hills far away; 
and on bright Saturday afternoons, when the 
week’s work is done, we can take jin-ri-ki-shas 
and go to O-ji’s fountains, or to Mu-ko-ji-ma’s 
pleasant, flowery walks, or to Shi-ba’s quiet 
woods, where no one would guess that we 

31 ♦ 365 


366 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

were in the heart of a great city. How many 
such hours we have spent there, when the 
sunlight trickled through the trees down upon 
the violet-beds and brightened the moss and 
fern and ivy! 

In these times of resting there comes often 
a beautiful vision. A great wind has swept 
over Japan, and the idols have all been carried 
away—yes, even the beautiful images of Buddha 
have gone, or remain to be admired only as 
works of art. Instead of the pagan temples on 
the hills and in the villages and dotting the 
broad plains are houses dedicated to the ser¬ 
vice of the true God. The pilgrims have 
learned that neither on “ this mountain ” nor 
“ at Jerusalem ” need the Father be worshiped, 
but everywhere may he be found by those who 
call upon him “ in spirit and in truth.” They 
know of heights of holiness and wells of salva¬ 
tion higher and deeper than those of Fu-ji’s 
top: “ Beautiful upon the mountains are the 
feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that 
publisheth peace.” In all the homes the word 
of God is read, and from them all prayer as¬ 
cends. Every one speaks and understands the 
language of Canaan, and the “ new song,” 
which has been sung in such feeble strains 
only here and there hitherto, has now swelled 
into a grand chorus: “ Hallelujah, hallelujah ! 


1877] The Regions Beyond. 367 

The kingdoms of this world are become the 
kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.” 

Shall my vision ever be fulfilled? Not by 
dreaming of it, surely; but this is the end to 
which we are to bend our energies. Then how 
must we go to work ? It will never be accom¬ 
plished by the foreign missionaries alone. We 
are too few in number and too weak in the flesh. 
Were our days as Methuselah’s, or our strength 
as Samson’s, or our numbers as the hosts of 
Israel, we might indeed expect to accomplish 
something. But our days are few and evil— 
few at the best, and made fewer still by the 
time we have to wait before we can go to 
work, and by the changes which come to us; 
and evil by reason of the infirmities of the 
flesh and the mistakes to which we, as erring 
human souls, are liable. And here in Japan 
our boundaries are restricted, and we may 
not go where we like. 

Only a short time ago I was at Kanagawa, 
the little town opposite Yokohama. The em¬ 
peror had just come home from a northern 
trip, and we watched the ornamented ships in 
the harbor and heard the guns which were 
fired in honor of his return. Then we saw him 
as he passed through Kanagawa in his open car. 
There was a great display of flags and the peo¬ 
ple were not wanting in demonstration, but they 


368 The Sunrise Kingdom . [1877 

did not fall on their faces before him as formerly. 
After the car had passed, some of those in the 
hotel went up to the temple to worship. They 
had heard of Jesus, and some of them sang 
“Jesus loves me.” 

When the emperor had passed, we decided 
to go up the Tokaido to Tokio. Not since the 
days of railroading in Japan have we been over 
the old road between Kanagawa and Tokio. 
We passed many people on the road, and 
they all seemed as they did six years ago. We 
stopped at the old hotel where we always took 
dinner in the days of stages, but there was lit¬ 
tle sign of change there (except that no beg¬ 
gars were visible), and the people still knew 
nothing of God. We stopped at a temple and 
saw crowds going up to worship, and we went 
to Plum Ya-shi-ki and wandered about the beau¬ 
tiful grounds. There seemed no change in that 
part of the Tokaido, and we came home, sad 
and conscience-stricken, to devise new plans. 
And yet our work seemed fully up to our 
measure of strength. 

Another day we went out in the suburbs of 
the city to the north and crossed the Sumida 
on a bridge, getting thus beyond the foreign 
limits. All was darkness there. On the way 
back we passed a little boy standing on a stone 
and talking to the setting sun. He did not 


1 877] The Regions Beyond. 369 

seem to be praying, except as he repeated the 
words “ O Tento Sama ! O Tento Sama !” (“ Mr. 
Sun”), just as they repeat “Amida Dai Butsu! 
Dai Butsic /” (“The Great Buddha”). 

How can missionaries ever boast of their 
work? No class of workers feel themselves 
more absolutely nothing. But our chief de¬ 
pendence is not on foreign missionaries, nei¬ 
ther is it our object to fill Japan with them. 
It is rather to bring- so large a force of native 
preachers, evangelical colporteurs, teachers and 
Bible-readers, both male and female, into the ser¬ 
vice that foreigners will no longer be needed, 
essential as their presence and their work are 
now, and will doubtless be for years and years 
to come. 

I fear that when we pray the Lord of the 
harvest to send forth laborers into his field we 
think too much of the foreign missionary and 
not enough of the native helpers. The evan¬ 
gelization of a country depends upon its own 
people, and from them must the laborers come. 
The great white fields can be occupied in no 
other way. I would that all the Church of God 
would unite in earnest prayer to this end. Pray 
that India’s sons and daughters may labor for 
India; that Persia’s church-people may work 
for Persia, and the Chinese for China, and the 
Japanese for Japan; that in every missionary- 

Y 


370 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

land the hearts of the native Christians may 
burn with desire to carry the truth to the 
“ regions beyond.” But we deal not with the¬ 
ory and indulge not in visions; and compara¬ 
tively new as this mission is, I think we can 
see that in the people which leads us to hope 
for great results—even that the grand consum¬ 
mation above described may be reached. 

I do not wish to keep back from any one the 
discouraging features of the work. Some of 
those of whom we had brightest hopes have 
utterly failed us. Some have heard the gospel 
with joy at first, but are of those who have not 
root and soon are “offended.” But that so 
many have persevered is more to be wonder¬ 
ed at than that some have turned back. 

Of the four Christians whom we found in 
Yokohama in 1869, old Baba (O Ba san) is 
dead. Kojiro and Ajiki have never, to my 
knowledge, entirely renounced their faith, but 
they are not working actively with any of the 
bodies of native Christians. But Ogawa, the 
elder, soon to be ordained a minister,* has 
through all times of sorrow and danger been 
faithful, and to-day is giving true evidence of 
his faith in his works. His is the “ bright and 
shining light, shining more and more unto the 
perfect day.” His wife has long been a mem- 

* In 1878 pastor of a native church. 


The Regions Beyond. 


37i 


1877] 


ber of the native church (Union), and they are 
united in the Lord. When he is ordained he 
will have the charge of native churches. Here 
is one at least who is ready to work well among 
his countrymen. But he is not the only efficient 
native worker. We have already noticed his 
association some years ago with the Yokoha¬ 
ma elder Okuno, and remember their first mis¬ 
sionary-tour together. In our church we have 
seen how soon it was organized, and even be¬ 
fore that those who were baptized invited 
friends to hear quickly the good news of the 
kingdom. 

At Toda san’s, on the Ginza, at Chimura 
san’s, in the vicinity of Shi-ba, at Iseki san’s, 
in a distant quarter of the city, sekiyo bas 
(“ preaching-places ”) were established. And 
all through the winter, in spite of wind and 
cold and storm, have the men gone out heart¬ 
ily to the work. 

In Shi-na-ga-wa, a town in the suburbs, there 
has been preaching at the house of an old 
doctor who has a daughter noted in all that re- 
gion for her filial piety. One bitterly cold day 
we all went out to a service near Hara san’s 
“Willow Island.” Two large rooms were 
thrown together, and they were filled with 
listeners. Some of the women sat far back 
and warmed themselves by the hi-ba-chis, but 


37 2 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1877 


all could hear, and they listened attentively. 
The native evangelists have been far out in 
the country, and probably churches will soon 
be organized in the vicinity of Tokio with 
native pastors over them. 

Our own church prayer-meetings are usually 
conducted by the Japanese. One of the licen¬ 
tiates preaches every Sunday in the church, 
and they are faithful teachers in the Sabbath- 
school. It is delightful to hear them giving in 
their reports at our monthly concerts, where 
each one tells where he has been, and with 
whom he has conversed, and how gladly the 
people have listened; and we believe they will 
gradually push forward until the truth is pro¬ 
claimed throughout all the land. 

But I think I hear some eager questioning 
about the women : “ How are the women work¬ 
ing? Will Japanese women take up with zeal 
the work for women in Japan ?” Often we are 
tried by their shallow and frivolous natures 
and by the indolence which they show. Yet 
these very things, when they are in a degree 
overcome, make the power of divine grace 
manifest in them. The woman Deguchi san 
goes day after day to her work in the city, 
always refusing to ride, walking miles in the 
wind and rain and snow or in the summer heat. 
She comes home often, triumphant in her joy, 


iS77] The Regions Beyond. 373 

to tell how gladly this one or that one has 
listened or has become a believer. She knows 
where every child in the school lives, and if 
one is absent more than two days goes to find 
out the cause. She does a great deal of copy¬ 
ing, being a good writer, and is always busy. 
Often at night, when the house is quiet, I hear 
her voice in prayer. 

Old Hisa, under careful direction, although 
weak in some respects and often trying, has 
kept patiently at her work month after month. 
She and Deguchi san went out in the country 
to O Rin san’s house one cold day, walking 
eight or ten miles on a bad road, and teach¬ 
ing the people all the evening. Fifteen peo¬ 
ple assembled to hear. 

I have great hope, too, of our girls. They 
come to school in weather that would keep 
many a child at home in our country. The 
little ones are brought on the backs of ser¬ 
vants. Never once, in all the days of appre¬ 
hended trouble from the ya-cu-nins, have they 
all at the same time kept away from school. 
Every Sabbath some one—often a number of 
them—has been here, even in most troublous 
days. At the time of the first baptisms among 
the scholars we saw evidences of great strength 
of character, and they have been earnest, con¬ 
sistent Christians ever since. Their attendance 


32 


374 7/k? Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

at church and Sabbath-school seems no forced 
thing. 

One of the pleasantest hours in all the busy 
week is that one on the Sabbath evening when 
the others go to church and I am left with the 
little ones to have a talk about the services of 
the day and to hear what they have to say 
about the sermon. Their prayers are simple, 
child-like petitions, and their faith is beautiful 
to witness. 

The Christian girls take turns in conducting 
the morninq- devotions in the school-room, and 
even the little ones lead in prayer. But some 
extracts from letters will give an idea of what 
religion is to them, better than anything I can 
say. “ I pray to God for you every day,” writes 
one to her absent teacher, “and our heavenly 
Father will hear the prayer of your dear friend.” 
One, whose mother was sick, writes: “ I could 
not go to church on Sunday for a long time. 
Every day I live in the house quietly, and it 
seems as if I had lost my dear friends, and I 
seem to live alone among the heathen people, 
but it is not so. We have the great Friend, 
and he will help us when we are weak and lead 
us when we wander. He loves those who love 
him. I am very happy when I think that I love 
him, and he blesses me all the time. My hope 
is in Jesus Christ.” 


The Regions Beyond. 


375 


1877] 


“ I heard a strange story,” says another, “ It 
is that in a city of Shiushiu twenty-four men be¬ 
came believers without any teaching. Some 
one got a Chinese Bible, and they read it and 
thought about it, and they discovered that there 
is one God, who made heaven and earth, and 
they became believers. This is a proof that 
God has blessed my country. 

“ I went to church on Sunday. The minister 
preached about faith, and it was very interest¬ 
ing. Now I am thinking about faith every day. 
How precious and how important faith is! All 
things which are done on the earth are by God’s 
will. I must try to break any chains that bind 
me. I am glad that you have a class of young 
men on Sundays. I hope at last they will be¬ 
come Christians and our brethren. I pray for 
you and for those whom you teach on Sunday. 

“ To-day is Friday, and it is very pleasant 
weather, but a little wind blows. To-day’s 
prayer-meeting was very interesting, and O 
I-ne san led ; and she talked about ‘ Love your 
enemies.’ The older girls talked about verses 
which they chose themselves, and the little ones 
recited. Our teacher asked us to bring, each 
one, one girl to the Sabbath-school. Almost 
all of the girls have led one or two girls to the 
Sunday-school. Sometimes I ‘ catch' boys and 
girls on the way, so the Sunday-school is very 


376 The Sunrise Kingdom. _ [1877 

large. All of the girls are poor and dirty, with 
babies on their backs. We have no power to 
lead them, but God can show us how. I am 
very glad to see them come to the Sunday- 
school. Now we must try to love them. Last 
Sunday, Miss Nui and Miss I-ne received bap¬ 
tism. And now our little O I-ne san has be¬ 
come a member of the Church of Christ in 
Japan, and we all rejoice. 

“ I must try to be hopeful and cheerful. 
Sometimes the way which we are traveling 
seems dark by reason of weakness in heart 
or disease of body, but Christ is our Light in 
the way. A Christian’s life is not always peace¬ 
ful. God has not promised us so. Jesus says, 
‘ Take up my cross daily and follow me.’ ” 

These letters are written in English, plainly 
and intelligibly, showing proficiency and skill 
in the use of our language. 

These extracts will serve to show something 
of the hearts of these girls. I believe that, with 
all their apparent frivolity and running after 
things new and exciting, the Japanese are pa¬ 
tient and endowed with great powers of en¬ 
durance. May we not, with the evidences al¬ 
ready given, look forward to a bright day for 
Japan, when the country will be filled with 
laborers from their own land? 

And this brings forward in strong light the 


1877] The Regions Beyond . 377 

self-abnegation of the foreign missionary. Our 
place is to bide, as it were, behind our work, to 
be constantly putting the fields which we have 
ploughed and sowed into the hands of others to 
reap—to make no name or fame for ourselves, 
but to seek to be “ nothing.” 

“One soweth and another reapeth,” saith the 
Lord. And to what end ? “ That both he that 

soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice togeth¬ 
er.” Then again I beg all the Church of God 
to “pray therefore the Lord of the harvest that 
he will send forth laborers into his harvest;” 
and while you pray, remember from whence 
those laborers must come —-principally from the 
people themselves. I repeat it: on native work¬ 
ers depends, under God, the chief and abiding 
success of missionary-work. 

One object in each separate field should be 
to make it as independent as possible of the 
foreign missionary, and to reduce rather than 
increase the expenses of the Board at home. 
We must be careful, therefore, how we give our 
help. If self-denial and a sense of need are the 
life of the Church and the soul of prayer with 
us, so it is with the heathen. They must be 
trusted to depend upon their own resources, to 
build their own churches, take care of their own 
schools and support their own pastors. And 
they can do it. Do not let us imagine that the 
32 * 


378 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

heathen are going to sit still to be converted. 
We care not for numbers, except as interesting 
statistics in comparing one year with another, 
for they may be doubled, trebled, quadrupled, 
in a year. Give the gospel to one, and that 
one may be the instrument of leading thousands 
to Christ. So let us pray, so let us direct our 
work, that all missionary-lands may soon be 
filled with laborers from among their own 
people. 



CHAPTER IV. 

« THE LORD SHOWED HIM ALL THE LAND ” 


“ So they went up to the mountains to behold the gardens and 
orchards, the vineyards and fountains of water. 

“ The pilgrims therefore went up to them (the Shepherds), and 
asked, Whose Delectable Mountains are these ? 

“ Shepherds .—These mountains are Emmanuel’s land, and they 
are within sight of his city.” 


HE time comes when the laborer in the 



X harvest-field can go forth to work no 
more: strength fails. Then it is as if the 
angels of God carried the weak and suffering 
one up to an exceeding high place—so high 
that we can look down over all the land upon 
the sowers and reapers that are yet at work; 
so high that we can almost look into heaven 
and stretch out our hands to take our crown. 
I fear that we down in the harvest-fields, busy 
with our own work, do not often enough take 
views from high places. If we did, there would 
be less danger of growing narrow-minded or 
selfish in our work. 

It is very important—indeed, necessary to 
our success—that we attend diligently to our 


379 


380 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1877 


own portion-of the field, but in digging and 
ploughing, in planting and sowing, and in 
watching the ripening grain, we sometimes 
keep our eyes down too long, forgetting to 
climb to heights from which we can look over 
all the land. We can go up at times of mis¬ 
sionary-meetings and conventions, and we can 
ascend smaller hills every week at our prayer- 
meetings, when we speak to each other of our 
work, and ask, “ Is it thus or so with you ?” 
Let us as from a mountain take a view of 
Japan, which we are now seeking to win for 
Christ. 

The empire of Japan comprises a group of 
islands lying to the east of China, Corea and 
Siberia. Of these islands Niphon (or Hondo), 
Yeso, Kiusiu and Shikoku are the chief. Be¬ 
sides these, there are thousands of smaller 
isles, some of which are nameless, or merely 
numbered, while others, such as Eno-Shima and 
Miajima, are famous throughout the whole 
land for the rare beauty of their scenery. The 
combined area of the islands is estimated at 
one hundred and fifty thousand square miles, 
and the population at thirty-three million. The 
country lies mostly between thirty and forty 
degrees north latitude, and embraces quite 
a variety of climate. In the North snow covers 
the ground during most of the winter, while in 


1877] “The Lord showed him the Landd 381 

the South the change from winter to spring is 
scarcely perceptible. 

The origin of the Japanese nation is not 
certainly known, nor is it necessary to discuss 
it here. There seems to be a general impres¬ 
sion among themselves that they are Mongo¬ 
lian ; in which they are no doubt correct, but 
whether purely so, without admixture of other 
blood, is questionable. They are not an in¬ 
ventive people: their minds are rather recep¬ 
tive and imitative. Whence they obtained 
their ideas originally no one certainly knows, 
but they have gone on for hundreds of years 
living in the same low wooden houses, eating 
the same food, using the same implements and 
utensils, and cutting their clothes after the 
same fashion, without any apparent desire for 
improvement. But when foreigners, after much 
difficulty, had once gained access to the people 
and were permitted to make homes for them¬ 
selves in some of the ports, the whole nation 
ran eagerly after our Western science and 
civilization; and so rapid have been the 
changes that all the w'orld has looked on 
with amazement, while to us who are here it 
seems as though a century of change had 
passed over the land in but a few years of 
time. 

I am not aware that any great change has 


382 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

been made in the political divisions of the 
country or in the general policy of the gov¬ 
ernment with regard to its own internal ap¬ 
plication, but there are evidences of progress 
which deserve special notice. 

The agricultural department ( Kai-ta-ku-shiu ) 
has done much to improve the fertility of the 
soil, and the introduction of foreign seeds, 
bulbs and slips has proved that Japan is ca¬ 
pable of bearing fruits and vegetables equal to 
those of our own land. Delicious pears have 
been raised, and strawberries, currants and 
gooseberries are now abundant and good in 
Tokio and Yokohama, while tomatoes and 
other once-foreign vegetables are raised in 
perfection. Some of the chief experiments 
of the Kai-ta-ku-shiu have been in the island 
of Yeso, which lies to the north, and a great 
deal has been done toward reclaiming its bar¬ 
ren soil, as well as that of other islands. 

The Japanese government has met in a time¬ 
ly manner, and solved, what is so puzzling a 
problem just now in some other lands—“What 
shall be done with the tramps ?”—by sending the 
beggars of the empire to the island of Yeso, 
where all who are able-bodied are compelled 
to aid in the agricultural labors of that country. 
The result is that you may travel the empire 
over and not meet with a regular beggar or 


1877] '■'■The Lord showed him the Land'd 383 

tramp—a marked contrast to what existed when 
we first came here. Beggary was then a pro¬ 
fession. 

There is some talk of new grasses being in¬ 
troduced in order that proper pasturage may 
be afforded for sheep and cattle. The exceed¬ 
ing coarseness and roughness of the native 
grass have precluded the possibility of raising 
these animals in any number, and the strange 
anomaly presents itself to a foreigner traveling 
through that otherwise beautiful country, that 
neither sheep, cow, goat, nor even pig, can be 
seen in all the land. Now, however, we may 
perhaps have our old desire realized in seeing 
sheep feeding upon the hillsides and cattle 
grazing in the valleys. 

The railroads of Japan are two; or, more 
properly, there is but one railroad, finished at 
each end. So far as now completed, this line 
connects the eastern seaport of Yokohama 
with Tokio, and the south-western port of Ko¬ 
be with Osaca and Kiyoto. It is expected—at 
least, hoped—that the railroad will be com¬ 
pleted down the whole length of the To-kai-do, 
thus connecting the two capitals and the two 
great seaports of the island of Niphon. The 
railroad “ stations ”—as called by the foreigners 
and Japanese here—or depots are fine foreign 
buildings, and the greatest care is taken to pre- 


384 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1877 


vent accidents, people not being allowed to 
cross the tracks when a train is anywhere in 
sight. 

The telegraph is in operation all through the 
empire. 

The school-system of Japan has undergone 
a complete change in late years.* Besides 
the Kai-sei gakko, or imperial college, at Tokio, 
and the academies connected with the govern¬ 
mental departments of engineering, mining, ag¬ 
riculture, army, navy, etc., there are at certain 
points in the empire what are called Eigo 
gakkos, where English is taught and foreign¬ 
ers employed. There is a lack of system and 
a crowding of studies in these schools which we 
regret, but hope that in time these errors will 
be rectified. There are normal schools through 
the country, where scholars are taught as in the 
one at Tokio. The system has been given them 
by an American, and they have graded Readers, 
object-cards and maps prepared expressly for 
them. Teachers from all parts of the country 
come to Tokio and study the system there. 
Other open ports have become centres of 
learning, and thus the children throughout all 

* There is now (1878) a regular bureau of education connected with 
the government, and great pains have been taken, by special embassy 
and other means, to investigate the methods and appliances of other 
countries, with a view of incorporating what is in their opinion good 
in them into their own national system. 


1877] “The Lord showed him the Land 385 

the empire are being taught much more thor¬ 
oughly and wisely than were their fathers and 
mothers. 

The school-buildings are mostly of a partly 
foreign style. We were surprised by their 
number and neat appearance as we traveled 
through the country. Many Japanese young 
men are studying medicine with foreign physi¬ 
cians; at U-ye-no is a fine hospital. For educa¬ 
tional purposes in science, law and medicine, as 
well as for the general benefit of travel, Japan¬ 
ese students are frequently sent to America and 
Europe. 

The expediency of beginning a school ex¬ 
pressly for the education of the blind is being 
discussed. It is greatly needed. 

The normal school for girls in Tokio was 
opened in the fall of 1875. The empress her¬ 
self was present. The first girls’ school, opened 
in 1872 in connection with the Ivai-sei gakko, is 
still in existence. Five girls were sent to Amer¬ 
ica in 1872. 

Books of all nations, on all subjects, are be¬ 
ing translated. We hope some one will be 
raised up in Japan who will reduce the lan¬ 
guage to a system, discarding in large measure 
the Chinese, but this work does not yet seem 
to have received much attention. 

Newspapers are being circulated very gen- 
33 z 


386 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

erally, some in easy colloquial, as the Ichi nichi 
shimbu , or “ Daily Gazetted in Tokio. 

Prison reform has occupied the attention of 
the government to a considerable degree. In 
some places, even, the missionaries have been 
allowed to go into the prisons. Whipping has 
been prohibited. The heads of criminals are 
no longer exposed on the highways, nor are 
barbarous modes of punishment resorted to 
—at least, so far as we have opportunity of 
knowing. 

The currency has been changed. Now we 
have the yen (dollar) and the sen (cent), and so 
fifty sen, twenty sen and ten sen, the decimal 
currency having been generally adopted. 

Japan has a regular standing army. The 
vessels of war are but few and the naval force 
is as yet insignificant. Both military and naval 
schools have been established, and are carried on 
with thoroughness. Foreign officers have been 
at the head of these, but are now being gradual¬ 
ly displaced as native ability comes to the front. 

In looking upon the people, it is interesting 
to observe how far these foreign innovations 
have affected them individually or as families 
in regard to language, houses, food and dress. 
In many parts of the empire, and among many 
of the people, we notice no apparent change as 
yet, but here and there, especially in the open 


1S77] “The Lord showed him the Land!' 387 

ports and at the seat of government itself, we 
discover considerable difference. As new ob¬ 
jects have been brought before them and new 
ideas introduced, they have required new words, 
and have generally drawn upon the Chinese lan¬ 
guage for them. 

Many of the Japanese are now building houses 
partly in foreign style, although they usually pre¬ 
fer to live in the Japanese part of the establish¬ 
ment. We may see in almost every house in 
Tokio something foreign, tables, chairs or 
pieces of drugget, which they find more com¬ 
fortable in winter than their own mats. The 
natives are beginning to use meat and milk 
to some extent, quickly recognizing their nour¬ 
ishing qualities. 

Many of the men appear in foreign dress, 
but there is little change in women’s apparel. 
Some of the costumes of the men, half native 
and half foreign, look very curious, and it is 
odd to see some with bath-towels around their 
necks as comforters, and coolies wrapped up in 
bed-spreads. But such incongruities are disap¬ 
pearing. One great advance in civilization is 
that the coolies are obliged to wear clothes, 
and no longer appear in an almost nude state 
—at least, this is the case in or near the great 
cities. They have, or pretend to have, in their 
bath-houses separate apartments for men and 


3^8 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

women, and the people now usually dress 
before they go out on the streets. 

The old Yoshiwarra system—the jo-ro-reis 

has been virtually abolished. These wom¬ 
en are not supported or countenanced by 
the government, as formerly, though in some 
parts of the country too much indulgence is 
still shown. 

\ v e think that, amid all fluctuations, changes 
and mistakes, progress in Japan is marked and 
sure. As missionaries, we do not care to 
Americanize or Anglicize the people, unless 
as a natural development. Indeed, we are 
very careful in our girls’ school to have, so 
far as practicable, everything in native style, 
that we may not educate them away from their 
own people. 

1 shall never forget how I was struck, one 
da Y. picking up a Chinese copy of the Pilgrim's 
Progress, to see in the cuts Christian as a China¬ 
man with a long cue. I think I always had an 
idea before that Christian was an Englishman. 
Happy for the world is it that “Christian,” 
either as a Japanese or Chinese or Hindoo, 
or as a citizen of any country, without chang¬ 
ing his clothes, food or distinctive habits of 
life, may journey on the heavenly way, and 
at last find entrance through the gates into 
the city. 


1877] “The Lord showed him the Land'd 389 

The seven open ports of Japan—Yokohama, 
Tokio, Ko-be, Osaca, Niigata, Hakodadi and 
Nagasaki—are interesting to us chiefly as mis¬ 
sionary centres, and as such we will briefly view 
them. 

Yokohama .—This city is still the great sea¬ 
port of Japan, and has the largest foreign pop¬ 
ulation, which last fact is, alas! in nowise of 
any advantage to the missionaries. For here, 
as in all other missionary-lands, we must admit 
that the hardest thing we have to contend with is 
the ungodly conduct of our own countrymen, and 
of those who come as the representatives of other 
nominally Christian nations. The Japanese un¬ 
derstand no distinctions at first. They call us 
all Christians; and the lawlessness, reckless¬ 
ness, intemperance and licentiousness of Amer¬ 
ican and British seamen, as well as those of 
other countries, bring continual reproach upon 
the cause of Christ in this land. And many 
other foreigners, by their disregard of the 
Sabbath and shameful conduct in many re¬ 
spects, prove sad hindrances to our work. 
What an impetus might be given to the work 
if only the representatives of the two great 
Christian nations who speak the same language 
would by their lives and by their expressed 
sympathy aid the missionaries in their work! 

But we have found among the foreigners 
33 * 


390 


The Sunrise Kingdom. 


[1877 


outside of our missionary circles many warm 
and sympathizing friends whose whole course 
has been most kind and helpful, and some who 
have proved themselves true lovers of God 
and earnest promoters of Christ’s work in 
this land. 

Mission-Boards .—The mission-boards repre¬ 
sented in Yokohama are the Reformed (Dutch), 
the American Presbyterian, which occupied the 
field about the same time as the Reformed, the 
Baptist, the Methodist, and the Woman’s Union 
Missionary Society. 

The Reformed Board has six missionaries in 
Yokohama. The first native church was organ¬ 
ized under the name of the Union church, the 
converts beino- those who had been under the 

O 

instruction of both the Reformed and the Pres¬ 
byterian missionaries. There is a large girls’ 
school under the care of this Board. 

The American Presbyterian mission is the 
only one which has its buildings in the settle¬ 
ment, the buildings of the other missions being 
on the bluff. On the compound are two mis¬ 
sion-houses, a dispensary, which is used also as 
a chapel, a school for boys, and a Sabbath-school 
room, besides a building used for a girls’ day- 
school. 

Of the medical work done in connection with 
this mission too much cannot be said. It is only 


1877] “The Lord showed him the Land!' 391 

necessary here, however, to mention the name 
of the noble veteran in that department, Dr. J. 
C. Hepburn, whose labors have been so unre¬ 
mitting and crowned with such wondrous suc¬ 
cess. His name and his work are known in all 
the churches. The Dictionary , which has been 
of so much use to all foreigners, is the work of 
this same member of the Presbyterian mission. 

Besides the meetings in the dispensary, ser¬ 
vices are held in a house in the native city on 
Sabbath evenings. The number of mission¬ 
aries belonging to the Presbyterian Board is 
seven. 

The Baptist and Methodist missions are at 
this date comparatively new. The missionaries 
are learnings the langfuag^e and teachings 

The “American Home for Girls,” under the 
auspices of the Woman’s Union Missionary 
Society, is a centre of light and influence 
known and felt through all the country round 
about Yokohama and Tokio. Besides the 
Japanese, Eurasian and destitute children of 
all nations there find a home and receive 
loving care. A newspaper in Japanese for 
children is published by this society. 

The work which is carried on among foreign¬ 
ers in the hospitals and on ship-board, and the 
temperance movement, deserve special men¬ 
tion and consideration. 


392 


The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

But the great work conducted at present in 
Yokohama is the translation of the Scriptures 
as a whole. This is done by the labor and 
under the supervision of a committee chosen 
from all the Boards. They have nearly com¬ 
pleted the New Testament, and will soon begin 
on the Old. 

I cannot turn away my eyes from Yokoha¬ 
ma without taking one glance at the cemetery 
where our missionary dead are sleeping. The 
first who was laid there was the little daughter 
of a Baptist missionary, and for a long time 
she slept alone. Then, by a strange, sudden 
calamity—the bursting of the boiler of a little 
steamer in which they were traveling—two 
members of our own mission, with their little 
“Eddie boy,” were taken from us, leaving us 
dumb with amazement and sorrow. Only a 
few days before, we had had our last excursion 
together, going in a house-boat up the river 
Sumida. As we stopped and moored the boat 
for a time near Adzuma Bashi, the natives 
gathered around, and Eddie’s papa lifted him 
to the top of the boat and said that he should 
be a missionary. We saw them late Saturday 
evening, bade them “Good-night;” their car¬ 
riage turned the corner, and they were gone 
from our sight until in the better country we 
shall bid them “ Good-morning.” The little 


18773 “The Lord showed him the Land'd 393 

infant of three months, the only surviving 
member of the family, was soon after taken 
to America, where he now is with his grand¬ 
parents. 

A little missionary baby who never saw the 
light was next laid near them, and a mission¬ 
ary brother from China found his resting-place 
under the same trees which overshadow their 
graves. Then one of the brightest of our 
mission-band in Tokio, of the Scotch Pres¬ 
byterian Mission—one who had labored with us 
scarcely one year—went home after only a few 
days of illness. Her last message to the Jap¬ 
anese was, “ Tell all these people that I did 
want to teach them about their Saviour.” 
Her baby-daughter followed her in two short 
weeks, and was buried in the same grave. 
Then a beautiful little daughter of friends in 
the Methodist mission closed her eyes to this 
world, and she too was laid to rest in the 
cemetery at Yokohama. These are our mis¬ 
sionary dead. Pleasant were their lives— 
sweet is their memory. 

Many foreigners now sleep here, a large 
number of whom died from violence or found 
a watery grave. Kind hands have placed a 
monument in a prominent spot in memory 
of those who perished in the Oneida, an Amer¬ 
ican war-vessel that collided with the British 


394 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

vessel, the Bombay, in 1870. One of them, 
the assistant-surgeon of the Oneida, young 
Frothingham, had greatly endeared himself to 
the foreign missionaries by his kind sympathy 
and timely help. He was a teacher in the 
Sabbath-school while the vessel lay in port. 

Tokio. —Tokio, our city of the plain, the cen¬ 
tre of poh’tical, literary and scientific life in Japan, 
is also one of its finest centres for missionary- 
work. The great drawback here is that the 
Concession is small and all the missionaries are 
obliged to live on it. In some instances mis¬ 
sionaries, by taking charge of schools in some 
way nominally under Japanese care, have been 
allowed to live in the city; but the government 
is becoming more strict rather than more leni¬ 
ent on that point, and it is feared that all will 
be driven into the Concession. 

The mission-boards represented in Tokio are 
the American Presbyterian, the Scotch Presby¬ 
terian, the Methodist, the Baptist, the Amer¬ 
ican Episcopal, the Church of England and 
the Society for the Propagation of the Gos¬ 
pel (English). All of, these missions have 
churches or preaching-places and schools un¬ 
der their care. 

In connection with the Scotch Presbyterian 
mission is a large dispensary. The American 
Presbyterian has one large school for girls, 


1877] “ The Lord showed him the LandT 395 

the Methodist one, and the Scotch Presbyte¬ 
rian one. 

A union has lately been formed of all the 
churches of the Presbyterian family, Scotch 
and American (including the Reformed), in 
church-work and organization among the na¬ 
tives. The missionaries of these Boards, with 
their native helpers, make a large and effi¬ 
cient force. 

On Sabbath-days now all over the city peo¬ 
ple can be seen going up to worship. From 
one place and another comes the sound of an 
organ, and the voices of native Christians as¬ 
cend to God in prayer and praise. The Bible 
is in many a home, and, better still, its truths 
are written on many hearts. 

It is proper to state that the Greek Church 
has a mission and a magnificent building, reck¬ 
oned among the finest in the city. A number 
of Roman Catholic priests are here, and the 
Sisters have a school for orphans. 

Ko-be .—This beautiful little seaport lies at the 
entrance to the inland sea in the south-eastern 
part of the island of Niphon. The land rises 
rapidly from the bay, swelling into high hills 
back of the city. These hills make Ko-be the 
great sanitarium of Japan. The foreign settle¬ 
ment here is quite large, and some of the build¬ 
ings are very fine. The city is connected by a 


396 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

railroad with Osaca and Kiyoto, the distance be¬ 
ing forty miles. 

The principal attraction of Ko-be is the water¬ 
fall. There are two falls, the upper and the 
lower. The Japanese think their O Taki a 
wonderful thing. 

The mission-work in Ko-be is carried on al¬ 
most entirely under the auspices of the Amer¬ 
ican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis¬ 
sions. The missionaries and native helpers 
move down toward the southern part of the 
island and to Shikoku. The girls’ school in 
this mission is large and flourishing; pupils 
come from all the country round about. Many 
of them are members of the native church. A 
newspaper is published by one of the members 
of this mission. In regard to the work among 
the women, which is very encouraging in Ko-be, 
one of the missionaries writes: “ Two of the 
women have been down twice lately to Akashi 
to stay a few days, with apparently much suc¬ 
cess from their work. One woman from there 
was up here to-day, and said she did not really 
understand much about Christianity until those 
women came. ‘Now,’ she says, ‘a few of us 
women down there have been thinking that, 
since women have so much more patience than 
men, we must get together between the Sab¬ 
baths, and if we can’t get anybody to teach us 


1877] “The Lord showed him the Land'd 397 

we must study together and try to get ready 
to teach these blessed truths.’ ” 

Osaca .—This city, like Tokio, is on a plain, 
but there is no bay, and the summer heat is op¬ 
pressive. It is a city of bridges, some of which 
are really wonderful in their construction. The 
mint, where the new money is coined, is in this 
city. The railroad-station and the city-hall are 
fine buildings. 

The castle, with its magnificent masonry, is 
the principal object of attraction in Osaca. 
When we visited it, two years ago, we were 
escorted through by a soldier, and looked with 
wonder at the huge stones and high battlements 
from which we gazed upon the city. On the 
Concession are many fine buildings, and a river 
passing through it makes it pleasant. 

The mission-boards represented here are the 
American Board, the English Church and the 
American Episcopal. The mission-work for a 
time was very slow, but considerable impetus 
has been given to it lately. There is a girls’ 
school in connection with the Episcopal mis¬ 
sion, and one under the American Board. 
This latter is not a boarding-school, the la¬ 
dies preferring to devote most of their ener¬ 
gies to outside work among the women. 

Kiyoto .—This is not an “ open ” city, but mis¬ 
sionaries are allowed to live here. Sometimes 


34 


398 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

a little apprehension is felt concerning the per¬ 
manence of the mission, which belongs to the 
American Board, but as yet nothing has oc¬ 
curred to interrupt the labors of those engaged 
in the work. It is a very interesting station, 
being in former times the very centre of pa¬ 
ganism. 

It is a gay city, too, as we who have seen the 
people going up to the theatres and watched 
the gay crowd at their Sustime can testify. 
Never shall we forget the brilliant scene which 
we witnessed there one night. Little platforms 
were built right over the shallow but rapid river 
which passes through the city. The platforms 
were lighted by lamps and torches, and on them 
people were gathered for entertainment. Eat¬ 
ing, drinking, dancing with hands instead of feet, 
and singing were the principal amusements. It 
was an exceedingly gay, animated scene, and we 
enjoyed looking upon it from the bridge so much 
that we joined the crowd and sat down on one 
of the platforms to eat watermelon and drink 
tea. 

One of the first at Kiyoto who became inter¬ 
ested in the truth was a woman, now the wife 
of Nesima, a native Christian educated in 
America. We noticed her on a boat going 
from Kiyoto to Osaca. She had an English 
Bible in her hands, and was going to Osaca to 


1877] “The Lord showed him the Land." 399 

study with one of the missionaries. She is a 
woman of great strength of character. The 
missionaries are about to put up a building 
for a girls’ school. So this great centre has 
the gospel given to it also. 

Niigata .—This city lies on the Sea of Japan, 
to the north-west of Tokio. Foreigners are al¬ 
lowed to live in any part of it, but it is not yet 
occupied very strongly by any mission-board, 
although the Scotch and American Episcopal 
Boards have stations there, and we have good 
accounts of the progress of the work. The 
journey is made overland from Tokio. Many 
Bibles have been sent to the missionaries there. 

Hakodadi .—This city is on the island of 
Yeso, which lies to the north of Niphon. It 
is a cold, rather barren, country, but lately has 
been much improved by the efforts of the Ka-ta- 
ku-shiu. Steamers run between Hakodadi and 
Yokohama. On the island is a volcano. 

The people are somewhat rough, being main¬ 
ly uncivilized Ainos, who are considered the 
aborigines of the country, and convicts and. 
tramps from the other islands. Some of the 
Ainos have been in Tokio, and attempts are 
being made to civilize them. 

In connection with the Ka-ta-ku-shiu, there 
has been in Shi-ba a girls’ school for the chil¬ 
dren of the Ainos, which it was proposed to 


400 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

remove to Yeso. Whether this plan has been 
carried out or not I cannot say; but we hope 
that before long there will be schools for girls 
in Yeso. 

Two mission-boards have stations in Hako- 
dadi—the Methodist and American Episcopal. 
Accounts of work are interesting, and the 
following extract from a letter will tell of a 
work done outside of the missions: “We have 
heard of Dr. Clarke’s work in Sapporo, Yeso. 
He has just gone home, after a year spent in 
getting the agricultural college started. He 
was president of the agricultural department 
in Amherst College, Massachusetts; was told 
when he came, by the Christian teachers in the 
Kai-sei gakko that he must not expect to teach 
Christianity in connection with his work: it 
would not be allowed. But he took some 
Bibles with him, and on his way up, being ac¬ 
companied by Gen. Kuroda, in command of 
that department, he inquired if he might teach 
the Bible. The general said ‘No’—not that 
he supposed it was a bad book, but the govern¬ 
ment did not tolerate Christianity yet, and he 
could not allow the Bible to be used in the 
school. 

“ Shortly afterward, on Gen. Kuroda’s re¬ 
marking that Dr. Clarke was to teach morality, 
the doctor replied, ‘ I cannot; you have forbid- 


1877] “The Lord showed him the Land'd 401 

den me the only text-book I know.’ The mat¬ 
ter was dropped there, but again and again it 
came up, until Kuroda said, ‘ I do not know 
as much about text-books as you do; you 
must select your own. Only teach morality.’ 

“ So the Bibles were put into the hands of 
the sixteen young men—picked men from the 
Kai-sei gakko—and without comment they were 
required to commit to memory portions select¬ 
ed from the Old and New Testaments, until 
finally they began to ask questions which Dr. 
Clarke was glad to answer, and a Bible class 
was speedily formed. The result, so far as 
appears now, Dr. Clarke thinks, is that the 
sixteen young men are all Christians; and 
even if the Bibles are taken away, they have 
the word hidden in their hearts.” 

Nagasaki .—No one who has seen it will ever 
forget the beautiful entrance to the land¬ 
locked harbor of Nagasaki, in the island of 
Kiusiu. High islands rise out of the sea, 
conspicuous among which is Shimabara, the 
rock from which the Christians were thrown 
in the old days of persecution. Nagasaki is 
all shut in by hills. We felt as though we 
were treading on historic ground as we wan¬ 
dered through Desima, where the Dutch were 
confined so long and suffered such indignities 
for the sake of trade, being the only nation 
34 * 2 A 


402 


The Sunrise Kingdom, 


[1877 


which would submit to Japanese terms. Here 
is the new Methodist chapel. The Methodist 
and the Reformed are the only churches which 
have stations in Nagasaki. The houses of the 
missionaries, on the hills, are very beautiful, 
but the climate is much warmer than in Tokio. 
The work progresses more slowly there, as the 
people seem more prejudiced. 

These are at present the great mission-cen¬ 
tres of Japan. From them go forth the labor¬ 
ers, both foreign and native, to all parts of the 
land. Around them, in the little villages and 
larger towns, are native churches and preach¬ 
ing-stations, and new ones are constantly be¬ 
ing formed. 

The missionaries have been on the Ha-ko-ne 
Mountains, and the children there sing “Jesus 
loves me.” They visit Nikko’s beautiful tem¬ 
ples and teach the word and leave Bibles and 
tracts. And in the summer vacation, when they 
leave their homes and go out into the country or 
by the seashore, they gather in the children, and 
through them interest the parents. 

Is not the view from over the mountain-top 
full of hope and cheer? What seemed, down 
below, like broken plans, frustrated purposes, 
shattered hopes and grievous disappointments, 
up here are seen to be only parts of God’s plan 
in scattering the truth over all the land. 


CHAPTER V. 


SAI-O-NA-RA. 


“ Let the fiery, cloudy pillar 
Lead me all the journey through.” 

“ Whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, 
they journeyed. Or whether it were two days or a month or a year 
that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the 
children of Israel abode in their tents and journeyed not; but when 
it was taken up they journeyed.” 

U NCERTAINTY and change are amongst 
the most trying things of missionary-life. 
We must hold ourselves ready for constant 
meetings and partings, for continual comings 
and goings. We in Japan live right on the 
very highway of travel to the Orient. One of 
the privileged duties of our life is the entertain¬ 
ment of missionaries going to and from their 
stations. Right glad are we to welcome them 
when they come or sympathize with them as 
they go, for leaving the work is the hardest 
trial of the missionary. Some we only see 
once; we bid them “ Godspeed,” and they go 
on their way; but our lives are enriched by 
them all. 


•i03 


404 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

Then the time comes when for us too the 
fiery, cloudy pillar is lifted and we must “arise” 
and go elsewhere. I wonder how it was in the 
Hebrew camp during that wonderful journey 
through the wilderness into Canaan ? When 
the cloud rested for “ one year,” did they forget 
that they were only travelers, and did they try 
to make a home for themselves in the wilder¬ 
ness? Were their tent-pins ever driven so 
deeply in the sand that they had trouble in 
taking them out ? or were they always ready to 
strike their tents and march away ? When the 
cloud was lifted at night, was there much hurry 
or confusion in the camp ? Did the people 
complain when they left Elim’s fountains and 
palms, and were their mouths filled with mur- 
murings when they encamped by Marah’s bitter 
waters—when they knew that at any moment 
the cloud might be lifted and they permitted to 
journey on ? “ Dear Lord, thou knowest how 

hard it is to leave the warmth and shelter of 
the tent to journey forth into the desert.” 

How like is our journey to that of the chil¬ 
dren of Israel through the desert! Clearly as 
Hebrew women saw while in their tent or on 
their march the mysterious pillar, now resting, 
now going before the mighty host, so can the 
child of God whose eyes are fixed upon the 
pillar of his providences fully know when to 


1877] 


Scti-o-na-ra. 


405 


journey on and when to tarry. Yet how much 
better off are we than they! True, the same 
One was with them who is with us, but they 
knew him only afar off and as the “Angel” 
—the “ Angel of the covenant ”—while to us 
he is Jesus, the crucified, risen Saviour, Em¬ 
manuel, Christ the Lord. 

I have had a long talk with Takejiro. He is 
under Christian influence, and is thinking seri¬ 
ously of becoming a Christian himself. The 
woman Hayashi and her two little boys are in 
a northern province with the husband and 
father. She sent her farewell by a letter, with 
a picture of herself. She has been ever a 
comfort and a help to us since she joined 
us. Before her husband returned to Tokio last 
summer she was troubled a little, and begged 
that we would pray that he might not be angry 
with her for uniting with the church. This sim¬ 
ple request was gladly complied with, and she 
came to Sabbath-school, smiling and happy, to 
tell us that he was not angry, but was coming 
to church himself in the afternoon. She whis¬ 
pered in my ear as she was leaving the room, 
“ I wish to work for God.” 

Deguchi san and Mitsuye san have been my 
companions in a distant province of the South. 
The latter has been a devoted nurse through a 
long illness. These people are most faithful 


40 6 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

to those they love. The little O Nui san, 
who wrote to tell of her baptism, is the sis¬ 
ter of O Shi-ge san. The father had known 
of his eldest daughter’s baptism for a long 
while, and though not manifesting anger refused 
permission to O Nui san at first. But they all 
prayed (and prayer is a real thing to them), so 
that at last O Nui san’s request for baptism 
was granted, and she and O I-ne san were 
baptized the same day. The latter’s Chris¬ 
tian character is developing beautifully, says 
her teacher. Does any one remember the 
tiny child of six years whom we first saw 
asleep upon her pallet in the little house 
near Gizo bridge? The “young rice” has 
been carefully watched and tended. 

A very large proportion of the girls who 
have been members of the school from its 
beginning are either professors of religion or 
still under Christian influence; and we leave 
them all working-—all the native Christians 
in every school and every church that we 
have known. And still the number increases, 
so that we can scarcely tell accurately the num¬ 
ber of native Christians, churches or schools. 

O Ka san came to say “ Good-bye.” She 
had in her hand a beautiful piece of crape, 
her parting gift to O I-ne san’s teacher. “You 
are going home,” she said, and then sobs 


1877] 


Sai-o-na-ra. 


407 


choked her utterance. How I wish that I 
could go away knowing that her feet too 
were walking in the way to the better coun¬ 
try ! But we shall still hope and pray that 
the mother may be led by her daughter to 
Christ. 

The girls came from Tokio to Yokohama to 
say “ Good-bye ” before the ship sailed. The 
parting was sad, for we knew not for how long 
it might be. But we sang our little hymn 
together that we had sung so often in the 
school and church at Tokio: 

“ Jesus loves me, loves me still. 

Though I'm very weak and ill; 

From his shining throne on high 
Comes to watch me where I lie. 

“ Jesus loves me ! He will stay 
Close beside me all the way; 

If I love him, when I die 
He will take me home on high.” 


Then the girls knelt together whilst O Chiye 
san prayed; and we parted thus strong in the 
faith of the Lord. O Tama san crept back to 
the bedside after the others had gone, and said, 
“We have sung that hymn and prayed that 
prayer. I shall never forget it—never!” 

Feb. 28 , 1877 . —A bright morning has broken 
over Japan. Earth, sea and sky are glorious in 
the winter sunshine. The great steamer is 
35 


408 The Sunrise Kingdom. [1877 

moving rapidly. The engines are working, 
the sails are spread, and around us fly the 
sea-gulls. We are “homeward bound.” 

But our eyes are not turned toward the home¬ 
land to-day. They are fixed upon the fast-re- 
ceding shores of Japan—fixed upon Fu-ji, all 
white and glittering. Nearly eight years ago, 
as the rays of the early sun brightened those 
beautiful islands, I said in gladness "O hayo!" 
—“Good-morning!” And now the blest morn¬ 
ing of a new life has spread its cheering light 
over the land just waking from the spiritual 
sleep of centuries, and still I may say “ O 
hayo!" as the Sun of righteousness ascends 
to meridian height. May darkness nevermore 
come over Japan! May its light shine “more 
and more unto the perfect day”! 

But as parting from earth precedes the en¬ 
trance into heaven, so must I say “Good-night” 
where but a short time ago I said “ Good-morn¬ 
ing.” Yes, to the country I love I must say 
“ Sai-o-na-ra ”—“ Good-bye ”—if it must be so. 
If never to see thee again in this life, when we 
wake from sleep may we meet thy people again 
and mingle our joyous “O kayos ” with glad 
“ Hallelujahs”! 


THE END. 


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